LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap. Copyright No. 

Shelf..t...?..<2 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE LIFE AND WOKK 



OF 



FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 



" Tlius fell Pyrrhus from his Italian and Sicilian hopes." 



THE 



LIFE AND WORK 



OF 



Frederic Thomas Greenhalge 

(Kobernor of JHassarijusetts 



BY / 

JAMES ERNEST NESMITH 




BOSTON N'^ \^^ 

ROBERTS BROTHERS 

1897 






Copyright, 1897, 
By Roberts Brothers. 



SEniiJcrsitg ^rcss: 
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. 



STfjc EepntjUcan partg of IMassactttsctts, 

to whose generous akd enthusiastic support governor greenhalge 

owed the exalted position he occupied when he died, and 

all the political honors that came to him in life, 

This Book is Dedicated by the Author, 

james eenest nesmith. 



PREFACE. 



The author has been influenced in the preparation of this 
book by a belief that the story of the life and work of the 
late Governor Greenhalge would prove valuable and interesting 
to a wide circle of readers, by the expressed desire for such a 
work on the part of many of Governor Greenhalge 's political 
and personal friends and admirers, and by the not unnatural 
wish of his family that such a record of his life should exist. 

The character and career of Governor Greenhalge are indeed 
worthy to be made the subject of a biography. They were 
equal to each other, and deserved the admiration and interest 
which they excited during his life, and the respect which 
followed him to the grave. 

There seeming to be no other person prepared to undertake 
the work, the author, though with little confidence in himself, 
felt it to be a duty incumbent on him to perform. 

The demands upon the author in its preparation have not, 
however, been large ; and the book is chiefly the work of Gov- 
ernor Greenhalge himself, who through its pages speaks, 
though dead, to the people, as he was wont to address them 
in life. 

The letters written by Governor Greenhalge are unfortu- 
nately few in number, but the few that exist are noble and 
characteristic expressions of the man ; those of the number 
suitable for publication are contained in this volume. His 



viii PREFACE. 

speeches and addresses, on the contrary, are very numerous; 
and, on account of their general excellence, it is somewhat 
difficult to make a selection. Those included in the book are 
of his best, however, and afford a good idea of the range and 
power of his oratory. 

The life of Governor Greenhalge was a suggestive life, and 
therein lies its peculiar significance ; it could not be written 
with great amplitude of personal detail. His private life was 
the ordinary life common to us all, and presents no striking 
incidents and vicissitudes. The life of a public man to-day 
is also commonly devoid of exciting contrasts, and is in a 
measure one of routine. 

The story of the life of Governor Greenhalge is necessarily 
for the most part political. His life, however, was broader 
in its interests than is common with politicians and states- 
men, and touched more closely the sphere of literature and 
culture, which gives it an added interest and variety. 

In the preparation of this book the author has enjoyed the 
co-operation and invaluable assistance of Mrs. Greenhalge. 
He desires as well to extend here his thanks to Eev. Ithamar 
W. Beard, Eector of St. Thomas Church, Dover, New Hamp- 
shire, who has also assisted materially in its composition ; 
and to those other friends of Governor Greenhalge who have 
contributed to the book and whose names appear within the 
volume. 

JAMES E. NESMITH. 

February 8, 1897. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter Page 

I. Early Life in England o 3 

II. Schools and College Career 13 

III. Early Life in Lowell 37 

IV, Poet and Writer 65 

V. Lawyer and Orator 77 

VI. Mayor of Lowell 145 

VII. Congressional Career 179 

VIII. Governor of Massachusetts 275 

IX. Second Year of Office 325 

X. Last Illness and Death 376 

Poems 391 

Appendix : A Conference of New England Governors . . 427 

Practical Politics 434 

INDEX 441 



PART FIRST. 



THE LIFE AND WORK 

OF 

FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 



CHAPTEE I. 

EARLY LIFE IN ENGLAND, 

The flight of time in this age seems more hurried than ever 
before. Events that would once have been memorable are 
quickly forgotten. Things that once would have stood long in 
the memories of men like an " altar stone or ensigned citadel " 
soon pass from their recollection. The eyes of all are turned 
toward the future with expectation, and their thoughts are 
engrossed with the vast activities of the present. 

Life has become like a battle-field where the living still press 
on, recalled from their pity of the fallen by the stern necessi- 
ties of war. There is a greater need than ever, therefore, that 
the memories of vanished greatness should be kept alive among 
us by sculptured bust or published memoirs, that so what has 
perished from the earth may still be honored there and the 
good that men do live after them. 

Frederic Thomas Greenhalge, the subject of the succeeding 
biographical sketch, is not numbered with those who have died 
in the ripeness of their age, who have reached the full height 
of their reputation after the exhaustion of all their powers and 
the accomplishment of all their purposes ; nor is he included 
with those who, though cut off while yet young, have seemed 



4 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

to leave no broken promises behind them, whose lives seem yet 
complete by the attainment of their ambition and the fulness 
of their works. 

The life of Greenhalge was a broken life in so far as the 
great things he accomplished were full of promise of yet 
greater things that he might have done in the future. The 
reputation so honorably won in the last years of his life would 
have brought him a larger sphere of action, and in the nation's 
council he would have found again the opportunity of distinc- 
tion and raised himself still higher in the realm of national 
politics. 

But his life was complete in so much as the man himself 
stood at the height of his power and genius ; he had reached 
his full intellectual stature and the maturity of his mind. His 
equipment would never have been better for action in the 
arena of public life ; his mental grasp would never have been 
firmer, nor his taste in literature more sound. But the silver 
cord is loosed, and the golden bowl is broken. He went to the 
grave in his prime, leaving his high office vacant, lamented by 
thousands who knew him only in the full vigor of his man- 
hood. There is no shadow on his memory, no stain on his 
official life, no hint of decay in the vision of intellectual force 
which he has left behind him. His was the sun of Austerlitz 
even in its setting, and he fell like a warrior snatched from the 
car of victory. 

This were an enviable fate could we but still our deep regret 
for the unaccomplished good, the broken promises, the high 
ambitions unfulfilled, and the sad breaking of our hopes in- 
volved in such a sudden and unlooked-for death. 

It does not matter so much where a man is born ; it is of 
more importance where he is trained in youth and grows up to 
manhood, — where his character is formed and the national 
habits fixed. " As the sapling is bent, so will it grow." Our 
education shapes us, and the associations of our youth are of 
more importance than our hereditary bias. Greenhalge grew 
up a true American ; no truer ever lived. The national char- 
acter was evident in all he ever did and thought. He was a 
perfect embodiment of American ideas, of American vigor and 
liberalism ; a thorough democrat by instinct and education, a 



EARLY LIFE IN ENGLAND. 5 

natural republican ; a leader of men where men are most ad- 
vanced, most enfranchised, and most progressive. 

Greenhalge was born, however, in Clitheroe, Lancashire, 
England, on the 19th of July, 1843, the son of William 
Greenhalgh, who removed with his family to America when 
the subject of this memoir was twelve years of age, and set- 
tled in Lowell, Massachusetts, where the family have since 
lived. We call him fortunate in being transplanted to these 
shores, this land of liberalism, opportunity, and unlimited 
resource. Fortunate, too, is the country which attracts such 
emigrants, whose opportunities are so great that intrepid 
spirits everywhere are drawn to it as by a magnet., and become 
its pioneers and workers; where liberty is so bright and 
shining a light that the untrammeled spirits of men every- 
where hail it with delight and seek it from afar. This nation, 
which is the bearer of good tidings to the powers and princi- 
palities of the earth, reaps a precious harvest of men from the 
old world, though there is much chaff mixed with the grain, — 
many feeble helpers joined with the active workers. 

The ocean that has brought us some drones has robbed Europe 
of many glorious spirits since Hampden and Cromwell so 
nearly turned their backs on England and their faces toward 
this new world. England has been ransacked to supply the 
new world with warriors and statesmen. She used to rifle our 
ships for sailors, but the golden stream of emigration has 
robbed her of her choicest sons. Our tribute has been heavy 
upon her, and our debt to her untold. Exiles by choice, and 
not, like Themistocles, driven forth by edicts and laws, the 
proud spirits of England flocked to these shores, inspired by 
ambition and love of liberty, neither influenced by fear nor 
compelled by want. No new land was ever settled by more 
haughty emigrants than the Pilgrim Fathers, — the equals in 
pride in a good sense of Cortez and Pizarro, their proud Eng- 
lish spirit intensified by religious fervor and exclusiveness. 

England still contributes some of the best of our citizens, 
and to this class belonged the Greenhalgh family. Clitheroe, 
their old home, is in Lancashire, which has become the great 
industrial county of England, and has suffered more than any 
other that partial eclipse of beauty and purity which has 



6 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

excited the eloquent philippics of Euskin. Yet the loveliness 
of England, even of Lancashire, cannot be destroyed. We like 
to link the hero of this book, even in infancy and remotely, 
with these old forms of beauty, with rural England. There 
was a natural delicacy and a vein of poetic feeling in his char- 
acter that would seem to have rightly sprung from such influ- 
ences ; his love for nature was always strong and real, a grand 
basis for character, and the ornament of the most distinguished 
minds, — especially strong and true in the case of men who 
once were boys in the country. Many of the world's great 
men have sprung from the farm. This was not a fact in the 
life of Greenhalge ; he never dwelt upon a farm, yet his asso- 
ciations with nature were always intimate, and his home was 
never far removed from her confines. 

To the writer of these lines Greenhalge always seemed a 
great man, perhaps greater than he was ; fitted by nature to be 
a leader of great masses of men along the paths of peace, — men 
civilized, indeed, the men of New England and the citizens of 
free America. I shall freely point out, therefore, what to me 
appeared the grand character of his heart and brain, without 
the fear of contradiction, without fear that my language should 
be called too glowing, or the praise be termed too high. 

The sons of great men are seldom distinguished themselves, 
but the characters of eminent persons are almost invariably 
traced in their ancestors. Great men are found usually to 
have had good mothers. Greenhalge was fortunate in both 
his parents. The name is that of an old Lancashire family. 
The ruins of Greenhalgh Castle still stand in that shire, 
raised by the first Earl of Derby, and destroyed after a siege 
in consequence of an Act of Parliament in the civil wars 
in 1644 The name is peculiar and somewhat difficult, and 
the last letter was changed from h to e, to simplify it, by Mr. 
Greenhalge. It is not a common name in America, and few 
apparently who have borne it have settled here. There is a 
family who bear it located in Maine. A certain Captain 
Greenhalgh is mentioned in one of Parkman's histories, of 
which personage the author has learned nothing more. He 
seems, however, to have been a man of some note in our early 
colonial times. In Lancashire the name is well known. 



EARLY LIFE IN ENGLAND. 7 

Perhaps the most prominent person who has borne it was 
Captain John Greenhalgh, son and heir of Thomas Greenhalgh, 
Esq., of Brandlesome Hall. This worthy was Governor of 
the Isle of Man from 1640 to 1651, appointed to that post 
by the great Earl of Derby, who perished on the scaffold 
at Bolton, in 1651. Captain Greenhalgh, a bold and daring 
soldier, was present with the brave Earl at the battles of 
Wigan and Worcester; he died from womids received in 
an encounter when Major Edge made the Earl a prisoner in 
1651. Governor Greenhalgh had a son Thomas. This son 
was qualified to be a knight of the Eoyal Oak, and served as 
High Sheriff of Lancashire. The tombs of this family are in 
the chancel of the Parish Church, Bury, or were in 1872, 
before its renovation. 

Governor Greenhalgh was a cavalier and royalist ; and 
among the reasons given for the choice of him by the Earl of 
Derby was, " that he was of good estate, and a gentleman, 
well born, and scorned a base action. Next he was a Deputy 
Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace for his own county ; he 
governed his own affairs well, and therefore was the more 
likely to do mine so. He had been approved prudent and 
valiant, and as such fitted to be trusted, and he is that; I 
thank God for him, and charge you to love him as a friend. " 
These words spoken of one Governor Greenhalgh might have 
been truly said of that other Governor Greenhalge whom we 
knew as the Governor of Massachusetts; separated as they 
were by two centuries, and distinguished in different lands 
and under such changed circumstances. " Prudent and valiant, 
and fitted to be trusted, " — as such Governor Greenhalge was 
known to all Massachusetts, and as such he too will be 
remembered. 

It would be fitting indeed if the chain of descent should be 
found to join these two Governors together by consanguinity 
and family ties. Such has always been the tradition in the 
Greenhalgh family. It may be true, and is even exceedingly 
probable, though the links have not all been traced which 
would confirm it completely. Greenhalge himself took small 
interest in questions of this kind, and never concerned himself 
seriously about his ancestry. 



8 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENEALGE. 

In America we like our public men to spring from the cabin 
and the farm ; we never inquire into their ancestry. America 
is not by any means a " penniless lass, " nor has she a " long 
pedigree. " Her favorites spring from the people, and their 
escutcheons are the axe and the plough. Greenhalge raised 
himself to his high position, his station of trust and authority 
in the Commonwealth. He occupied that station by right of 
his talents, and his place in the hearts of the people, — be- 
cause he was one of themselves in the common circumstances 
of life and in his instinctive feelings. He was singularly free 
from prejudice, and even the natural pride of intellect was for- 
eign to his nature. He was not hale fellow well met with all 
men ; he possessed a native reserve of character, on the con- 
trary, and was the least self-assertive of men. Yet he was 
loved by the common people always, and well understood by 
them. All could approach him on equal terms as friends 
and comrades. He was one of the most sympathetic of men, 
and could share in the griefs and joys of others naturally and 
without pretence. Pretension of all kinds was absolutely 
unknown to him; he loved honor and made himself worthy 
of it by not coveting it when it was possessed by others, and, 
as it were, holding himself above it and never seeking to gain 
it except by the most honorable means. Take him all in all, 
he seemed born to be a great tribune of the people. His 
active sympathies were all with them ; and to such a man to 
have sprung from honest though humble ancestors would have 
been honor enough. 

Yet it is human nature to take an interest in coincidence of 
name, even if it were nothing more, and he showed that com- 
mon interest which we all have in tracing out our ancestral 
line. 

In the last weeks of his life he was greatly interested in a 
story published in an English magazine, and introducing as 
its chief characters the Greenhalghs of Brandlesome. He 
claimed, however, that beside that branch of Greenhalghs 
whose members were cavaliers and royalists, there was another 
branch, the members of which were Puritans and Eoundheads; 
this idea suited his own preferences and habits of thought, 
which were far from being with the cavaliers. 



EARLY LIFE IN ENGLAND. 9 

Whatever interest or lack of interest Greenhalge may have 
felt in his ancestry, for his father he had the greatest respect 
and admiration. Some who knew both have said that in in- 
tellectual qualities the father was hardly surpassed by the son. 
He certainly had remarkable characteristics. Some of his tal- 
ents his son shared but slightly. Greenhalgh senior possessed, 
for instance, a remarkable aptitude for the art of painting. 
His water-colors, though by an amateur, are good examples of 
the English school. The author possesses a note-book in which 
Greenhalgh has written down many observations regarding the 
mixture of colors for landscape painting, which show how 
much he had reflected upon this subject, and how close had 
been his study of nature. He was also always deeply interested 
in literature and books, and possessed a truly cultivated mind. 
His taste for literature, however, and his talent in this direc- 
tion descended to his son with increased knowledge and appre- 
ciation of the best and greatest achievements of the human 
mind which the world of literature affords. This ornament to 
liis father's character was indeed splendidly worn by the son 
with increased lustre. 

It will not be necessary to refer to all the ancestors of 
Greenhalge of whom anything is known. The family can be 
traced for six or seven generations. The link which should 
unite the family with that of Brandlesome seems to be lost in 
the person of one Eichard Assheton Greenhalge, who disap- 
peared and cannot be traced. The grandfather of Greenhalge 
was Thomas Greenhalgh, who was born in Burnley, Lancashire, 
and was married there to Anne Dodson, of Knaseboro, York- 
shire, at the age of twenty-one. Of the seventeen children 
of this union ten lived to mature age, four sons and six 
daughters ; only two of the sons married. "William Green- 
halgh, the father of the Governor, was born at Clitheroe in 
1810, and there married a Miss Jane Slater in 1840. They 
left a large family, of which Governor Greenhalge was the 
only son ; and he came to be the sole male representative of 
his family, his uncle's children having died without heirs. 

William Greenhalgh, while at Clitheroe, had charge of the 
Primrose Print Works. Frederic Thomas Greenhalge was 
born at Clitheroe, July 19, 1842. Two years after the birth 



10 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

of his son, William Greenhalgh moved to Eshton, where he 
lived until the future Governor of Massachusetts was five years 
of age. William Greenhalgh moved again, in 1847, to 
Edenfield, an ideal English village, the memory of which 
always lingered in the mind of Greenhalge. There the most 
of his English life was passed, there his school days began; 
and loving recollections of his early home were cherished 
by him all his life. He always liked to refer to them ; and 
the simple, old-fashioned village of Edenfield remained with 
him in memory as a charming example of English rural 
life and scenery. 

England is indeed a charming home ; nowhere else is 
country life invested with a greater charm. The race of 
Englishmen can never forget the beauties of their old home, 
whatever land they colonize. The educated American still 
remembers the richly cultivated vales and ancient hamlets of 
England as the ideal of rural beauty. 

At Edenfield Greenhalgh senior and his brother Thomas 
became the proprietors of an engraving establishment. His 
literary tastes led him to form a society with other gentlemen 
of kindred minds for mutual enjoyment and the study of 
literature. It contained a number of valued friends. The 
Eev. Nathan Nelson, the rector of the parish, was one, — an 
intimate and always constant friend. Mr. John Aiken, a 
wealthy manufacturer, living on an estate called Iswell Vale, 
was another; also Mr. Hewitts, of Horncliff, another mill- 
owner ; and a Mr. Austin. These gentlemen were accustomed 
to meet at one another's firesides for mutual intercourse. 

In the meantime the future Governor of Massachusetts 
attended a private school located there, and kept by a gentle- 
man named John Ashworth. It was a large day and boarding 
school, and even at that early age the young scholar always 
stood at the head of his class. But the time came when the 
family were to move from their pleasant home and the village, 
which is still remembered with fondness. This time Green- 
halgh senior and his brother removed to Manchester, where the 
business prospects seemed better. Yet to go from this ideal 
congenial life at Edenfield to the city life of Manchester was 
very distasteful to the father, and caused him many regrets. 



EARLY LIFE IN ENGLAND. 11 

While at Manchester, William Greenhalgh received a call 
from America to take charge of the printing department of the 
Merrimack Manufacturing Company of Lowell, Mass., as suc- 
cessor to James Prince, who had died in England. This 
call he accepted, and with his family sailed from England, 
May 16, 1855. 

Here ends a brief record of Greenhalge's English ancestry 
and of his early life in that country. He left there at the 
age of twelve years, too young to have been much in- 
fluenced by his surroundings. It remained for America to 
form his character, to mould his habits of thought, and to 
develop the powers of his intellect, affording him at the same 
time a magnificent field for their encouragement and display. 
He became a true American in thought and in ambition. The 
faint recollections of his childhood were of no effect upon his 
character. Henceforth he became an American among Ameri- 
cans. He knew no other country save the great Eepublic. 
An American boy, he grew up in her public schools, and 
differed in no way from any other American boy. He was as 
true an American as Napoleon was a Frenchman, who stands 
in history almost as a personification of France. 

It is interesting, as bringing into comparison the two coun- 
tries, to consider the varying fortunes that might have been 
his had his life been passed in England rather than in America. 
The opportunities that England offers to young men of brilliant 
gifts and political ambition, yet without influence and the 
advantages of birth and wealth, are comparatively small. 
The education that America freely gives is not so certain of 
attainment there, and in its higher branches becomes still more 
difficult to acquire. Such a career as Greenhalge's would seem 
almost impossible in any other land save ours. His talents 
might have remained undeveloped, his ambition might have 
been quenched or never aroused. The very atmosphere of 
England is less stimulating than ours, although perhaps afford- 
ing a stronger support to continued effort. He would not have 
been surrounded with such stirring political activities. He 
would have been deprived of the continual object-lessons 
which here are before the eyes of ambition, where success is 
always in evidence and seems so easy, — as it were, spread like 



12 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

a lure before us all, like a golden and glittering spoil. Yet, 
supposing Greenhalge to have enjoyed the advantages that 
would have enabled him to enter public life with easy access 
in England, he possessed the talents that Englishmen admire, 
that take the foremost place in Parliament and are a power in 
the land. He possessed the genius of a great debater, and 
might have reached a high position in England's Parliament. 
It seems so to the writer. Yet his opportunities were higher. 
It was his destiny to join the great stream of emigration that 
ceaselessly sets toward the giant of the western star ; he became 
one of a conquering race, the splendor of whose power is 
doomed to overshadow that of England, as the spirit of Antony 
was shadowed by Caesar, — 

" Weave o 'er the world your weft, yea 1 weave yourselves, 
Imperial races, weave the warp thereof. 
Swift like your shuttles speed your ships, and scoff 
At wind and wave, and, as a miner delves 
For hidden treasure bedded deep in stone. 
Go seek ye and find the treasure patriotism 
In land remote and dipped with alien chrism, 
And make those new lands heart dear and your own." 



I 



.. 



CHAPTER II. 

SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 

After a voyage of five weeks, William Greenhalgh and his 
family landed in Boston, June 22, 1855, and immediately went 
to Lowell, his future home. 

He settled with his family on Button Street, in a house 
belonging to the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, and 
immediately entered upon the duties of his position in the 
engraving department of that corporation. His family con- 
sisted of his wife, his son Frederic, and six daughters. 
Mrs. Greenhalgh was a woman of broad mind and strong 
character, and possessed many remarkable qualities that 
fitted her to be the mother of a distinguished man, and such 
as are most commonly found in mothers whose sons have 
become eminent. 

The city of Lowell, which now became and remained 
throughout his life the home of Greenhalge and his father's 
family, is the largest manufacturing city in America devoted 
to the production of cotton cloth. The mills employ thirty or 
forty thousand operatives. The wisdom of its founders has 
been justified by the unexampled prosperity which has attended 
the city which owes its birth to them. The character of its 
operatives was singularly high in the early years of its growth, 
and aroused the admiration of Dickens, and other strangers 
who visited it in the past. The people who were employed in 
its corporations at their start came from the neighboring vil- 
lages and farms, — the sons and daughters of New England 
parents. Many of them possessed literary tastes. Emigra- 
tion and the changes of times have altered the character of its 
inhabitants and operatives; but its reputation has always 
continued high for thrift and industry. Strikes have been 



14 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

rare in Lowell ; and the city has increased in size, until it now 
numbers eighty or ninety thousand inhabitants, being at present 
the fourth city in the Commonwealth. Its situation is most 
beautiful, at the confluence of the Merrimac and Concord 
rivers, both of them naturally charming streams, and still 
retaining much of the wildness of nature. The suburb of Bel- 
videre, where the residence of Greenhalge is situated, is per- 
haps the most beautiful portion of the city, — placed upon the 
high bluffs along the Merrimac Eiver, which it overlooks, and 
with a distant view to the west of the New Hampshire up- 
lands, " Monadnock, and the Peterboro hills. " At the time 
when Greenhalge came as a boy to the city, its population 
numbered about forty thousand. 

Soon after his arrival, young Greenhalge entered as a pupil 
the old North Grammar School, of which Mr. Fiske was the 
principal. He remained there one year, and then entered 
the High School with the highest rank attained by any of the 
pupils entering with him. He remained in the High School 
three years, and left it to begin his college course at Harvard 
University. Like most men of brilliant talents, Greenhalge, 
as a youth, was precocious, and his remarkable characteristics 
soon became evident. Mr. Chase, the principal of the High 
School while he was a scholar there, has declared his convic- 
tion that he was the most brilliant pupil that ever came under 
his instruction. Many of his fellow scholars still retain the 
recollection of the vivid impression which he made upon their 
minds, and have told of the pleasure with which they looked 
forward to hearing his youthful eloquence upon declamation 
day. He belonged to the order of men of which Sir William 
Jones was a prominent type, of whom it has been recorded by 
one who knew him, himself a distinguished man, that had he 
been left naked and friendless upon a desert heath, he would 
have still found means to advance himself to a high position, — 
to that order of men to which William Pitt belonged, of whom 
his father. Lord Chatham, declared that it was not in the 
control of fate to retard the political advancement of that 
youth. 

He belonged to that class of men because his talents were so 
striking, so ready, so much in evidence all the time, that they 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 15 

could not have been overlooked or neglected. In fact, they 
were fully appreciated by those who knew him in school or 
college. This readiness and early display of talent may not 
always be characteristic of the most profound minds ; but it is 
often found associated with the genius of successful men, of men 
of action, whose fitting sphere is the world of politics and party. 

There was also in the character of Greenhalge, in youth as 
in manhood, a vein of poetic sensibility and a slight tinge of 
melancholy. We can trace the source of this in both his 
parents. His mother was a woman of strong character, courage, 
and fortitude, and very fond of poetry and music. His father 
was an artist of no mean talent. His mother was cheerful ; 
but his father was not devoid of a strain of thoughtful melan- 
choly, and he transmitted something of it to his son. This 
is often true of those who possess an artistic and sensitive 
temperament. In fact, the future Governor was always an 
artist at the base of his character, — an artist in disposition, 
in thought and training; using not the art of painting, nor 
often that of verse, but the art of speaking, — par excellence, 
a master of vivid, forceful, and eloquent speech. 

We shall find this talent of his very evident as we follow 
his school career; it is a talent he shared in common with 
many American youths, though few in after life have developed 
it as he did until he became an accomplished orator at the bar, 
in Congress, and on the platform. 

I have already referred to the intellectual quality of his 
father's mind ; it would seem that he inherited from him in 
some measure even his oratorical talent. His father was a sood 
speaker. His brother, Joseph Greenhalgh, writing of his talent 
in this direction, says, in a book concerning the Greenhalgh 
family published by him in England for private circulation : 
" He was a good spokesman, and at most of the election 
contests at Clitheroe, from 1832 onward, he was chairman, 
secretary, or otherwise, where both writing, auditing, and 
speech-making were required. I remember, in 1841, when 
Cardwell contested the borough in the Tory interest, that he 
addressed the electors from the Swann window in Whalley, 
and William spoke to them in opposition, it was said that at 
that period the latter was much the better orator. " 



16 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

The following letters written by Greenlialge's father to his 
friends in England after his arrival in America are interesting, 
and show clearly that he was no common man. That he was 
a student of literature and possessed a cultivated mind, is 
evident. They show also that he observed closely, and his 
remarks about England and America are just and philosophical. 
He was, of course, an Englishman, and looked naturally at 
things from that standpoint. 

In a letter of Nov. 9, 1855, written to James Greenhalgh he 
says : — 

" Look at the bridge, crossing the river. The river is the 
Merrimack, and the bridge is called Dracut bridge. Over that 
bridge I have passed many a time visiting friends who live on 
the Dracut side of the river. The bridge is a wooden one, 
covered in to keep the snow off it during the winter season ; 
there are openings in the side, the size of windows, but no 
glass. 

" The view from one of these openings upon a moonlight night 
is beautiful ; the moonlight reaches brilliancy far exceeding 
ours, though ours is not to be treated slightingly ; this extra 
brilliancy arises from the greater clearness of the atmosphere. 
Well, upon such a night I did not stand ' within the Coliseum 
walls, midst the chief relics of Almighty Rome, ' but within 
Dracut bridge, Lowell, Massachusetts, America, some three 
thousand miles from Fatherland. 

" I enjoyed the scene, and it brought to my mind many 
similar scenes, now gone to the past, as well as some of our 
old friends who then lived to enjoy those scenes with us. 
Starkie idolized a moonlight night. Poor Starkie, Porter, and 
loving ' Old Jos' ! We have spent with these and others many 
a fine moonlight night in Clitheroe ; another I think we shall 
never spend there. ' So mote it be ; ' we cannot help it; but I 
have great pleasure in recalling scenes like these, and every 
moonlight night does its work in this way. We had some 
gorgeous moonlights on the broad Atlantic, being made sub' 
lime by the expanse of waters. I did not forget the Clitheroe 
moonlights then, nor those kind friends associated with them. 

"The only classicality connected with river moonlight 
scenes or forest moonlight here is that North American 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 17 

Indians have paddled one in their canoes, and made their trail 
through the other. The Indians are also added to the past so 
far as this region is concerned. The only thing remaining of 
them is the name of the river Merrimack, and a few other 
Indian names, such as Pawtucket Falls, and Pawtucket town. " 

Another time he writes : — 

" I am going through a course of reading which I call classic 
English, such as De Quincey, Sydney Smith, Macaulay, 
Jeffreys, etc. , all the Edinburgh and Blackwood Eeviewers in 
the ' olden time, ' when we were boys, and thought everybody 
a god who could contribute a page or two to those celebrated 
Eeviews. I have been much amused by the memoirs of the 
Eev. Sydney Smith, written by his daughter, the wife of Sir 
Henry Holland, the celebrated physician. 

" If you can get the reading of it, do it at once ; it will repay 
the perusal. The Americans have produced some clever authors, 
both as poets and philosophers ; but still they are mainly 
dependent on British talent for their literary luxuries, either 
ephemeral or immortal. Deprive them of Dickens, Thack- 
eray, etc. , the vacuum would be insupportable ; not that I am 
a great admirer of these evanescent writers, yet they are pro- 
digiously admired here. 

" James, I have a great favor to ask here. I will ask it, if 
I am denied, and that is, to send by M. B. the portrait in oil 
of yourself ; I think I have the greatest and most legitimate 
claim to it, and it would be so much valued by us. Fred is 
the only one likely to carry the name down to posterity, and I 
think he ought to possess the likeness of the head of the family, 
lineally considered, of our particular branch of the genealogical 
tree. If the removal of it is not heartily acquiesced in, let it 
stop, and be lost in the mobs of other names, and valued only 
for its canvas and colors. 

" I like old Boston ; it is such a comfortable place, so Eng- 
lish-like ; and it is a great publishing-place. There is the 
noble (I say noble, and I have reasons for it) Ticknor & 
Fields, princes of publishers ; Phillips, Samson & Co. , Gould, 
Lincoln & Co., Wliittemore, Niles & Hall, and a host of 
others, all honorable men, not wishing to use English brain 

2 



18 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

without paying for it. We should have an international 
copyright law if it depended on the Boston publishers. 

" Boston is the Athens of the United States, therefore I like 
Boston ; and when I go there, I run through the stores of these 
eminent publishers and purchase an old book or two, by way 
of encouraging them; in fact, I patronize them. Last time 
but one I called at Ticknor & Fields', and bought ' Shirley,' a 
novel by Miss Bronte, and the ' Tenant of Wildfell Hall, ' by 
her sister Anne. ' Jane Eyre' I had read previously. The 
last time I was in Boston I called to patronize Little, Brown 
& Co., and bought Bulwer's dramas, containing 'Eichelieu, ' 
' Lady of Lyons, ' and other poems. I gave fifty-six cents for 
it, a beautiful pocket edition in blue and gold, the popular 
and fashionable style of external adornment at present in the 
States. " 

In a letter of July 19, 1858, he says : — 

" Fred is a young man, very tall and healthy. He never 
gives over eating ; as soon as he comes into the house he walks 
straight to the cupboard, seeking what he may devour. He is 
very studious and steady. To-day he is sixteen years of age, 
and is now preparing for the High School examination. He 
has already distinguished himself, and is considered, not by 
me, a hoy of mark. If nothing blasts my prospects, I intend, 
when he has finished at the High School, to send him to 
college, and afterwards make a lawyer of him ; he must make 
a barrister of himself. " 

Oct. 22, 1859, he writes : — 

" Fred finished his studies at the High School with all 
honors, gaining a diploma and a silver medal; he is said to 
be the best scholar sent out by the school. He passed his 
college examination, and was admitted Sept. 1, 1859. It is 
Harvard College, the Oxford and Cambridge of the United 
States. It will cost me about one hundred pounds per annum 
during his stay there. I shall keep him there as long as I can 
afford, four years college education, and two years at the law 
school. 

" Our chief interest is to hear what is taking place in 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 19 

Europe, and in Europe what is taking place in England, the 
centre of Europe, the eye of the world, the civilizer of the 
world, the hope of all men, the little spot of earth that dares 
all the world, because she is mighty in the justice of her 
efforts as well as in the wisdom that directs those efforts. 
America is the great echo of those efforts, or, in practical words, 
she carries out the principles that are created there ; to wit, 
the principles upon which her present liberties are founded 
came from England, the means for sustaining those principles 
came from England up to the present time, and she looks to 
England for sustenance as the infant looks to its mother for its 
milk. If England were by some natural convulsion swept from 
the face of the earth, no country would suffer more from such 
a calamity than the great United States of North America. " 

Another time he writes as follows, referring to a Masonic 
meeting which he had attended : — 

" I made my first speech a fortnight ago, and spoke of the 
true brotherly feeling entertained in England, having in my 
eye, as I spoke, the thorough-going Masons I met in Boston a 
few years ago. 

" Tell them there is encouragement enough on this side of 
the Atlantic to support them in their good and glorious work of 
benevolence and social reformation. " 

The last letter I shall quote was written during the Eebel- 
lion. He says : — 

" This country for my prosperous interest is done ; everything 
is high, and, from the taxes for the war in operation, will be 
still higher ; therefore England, with my large family, will be 
much better for me, and as soon as I am in a condition to 
bring me and mine to Fatherland, I shall do so. For months 
we saw nothing in this city but the training of troops for the 
war, the drums beating, but the looms silent To reduce the 
subject of the war into a small compass, it is this, — a war 
of free men against a slave oligarchy." 

While at the old North Grammar School, Greenhalge joined a 
small debating-society, consisting of three members, — small 



20 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

indeed, — and called the Kansas Aid Debating Club, the object 
of which was to discuss the Kansas question, at that time 
agitating the country. 

In his diary, written during the winter and summer after 
his arrival in this country, he writes of his boyish experiences. 
His diary is interesting and characteristic, and I have made 
the following extracts from it. Written by a youth of thir- 
teen, they show a good deal of spirit in their execution, and 
contain some vigorous youthful heroics, — snow-fights, boyish 
encounters on the river with the Mickies, and frequent mention 
of being locked out of school. 

DIARY. 

Wednesday, Dec. 25. — Christmas Day ! But not the good 
old English Christmas. The Americans (at least most of 
them) keep it very poorly indeed. It snows very hard, — 
more like hail than snow. 

Monday, Dec. 31. — The last day of the year. Got locked 
out morning and afternoon. 

Tuesday, Dec. 32. — I mean the 1st of January, 1856; but 
it was a natural mistake, and I will not erase it. Got locked 
out in the morning, but went in the afternoon. 

Thursday, Jan. 10, 1856. — Went to school all day. We 
have some fine practical problems in applications of Square 
Eoot. 

Wednesday, Jan. 16. — Got locked out again. I don't 
know what Mr. Fiske will say about my getting locked out. 
I am in a bad fix about it. In the afternoon I learned that 
Mr. Fiske had threatened to write to my father, which sadly 
frightened me. In the afternoon we had a snow fort and had 
some fun. 

Thursday, Jan. 17. — Went to school with my excuse, 
and made an excuse for my absence; but I knew it was not 
the true one ; however, it did pretty well, only I feel sorry for 
having to tell an indirect falsehood. We set about building 
a regular castle of good forts. We expect to finish them by 
Saturday. 

Friday, Jan. 18. — Went to school all day. At night 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 21 

Wallace Hinckley, having vexed A. B. and me, we went at 
night and knocked both forts down, — a very mean act. 

Monday, Jan. 21, — To-day is a memorable day in my life, 
as I got one of the soundest floggings I ever had in my life, from 
my mother. I got locked out. In the afternoon I did not go, 
and Mr. Fiske was told by Wallace Hinckley (I instructed him) 
that I was sick. This day is well worthy of being called the 
" Day of Misfortunes. " 

Monday, Jan. 28. — Went to school in the morning, but got 
locked out (oh, dear ! ) in the afternoon. It was a very snowy 
day, and a great many were absent. Wallace Hinckley was to 
tea at our house. 

Tuesday, Jan. 29. — At night got some books to print names 
in for the scholars, and also I was asked to do some letters on 
some pictures by a drawing-school mistress, and I am going to 
do them when they are ready. Went over to W. H. 's, but soon 
came back. I am now writing my journal for the last week in 
my bedroom, all being in bed but me ; so good-night. 

Wednesday, Jan. 30. — Went to school in the morning. 
In the afternoon went over to Hinckley's, and we passed the 
afternoon pleasantly, as usual, snow-balling. Wallace Hinck- 
ley and I were on one side, and F. Wilson and Henry on the 
other. We had to storm their fort, which was rather a diffi- 
cult thing, considering what a stout fellow Wilson was, and 
what an inefficient Wallace was compared with him. I don't 
say anything about myself, only this : that if it had not been 
for me, Wilson would have made short work of Wallace 
snow-balling. 

Monday, March 3. — Went to school all day. At night I 
went to a promenade concert held at Huntington Hall for the 
benefit of the poor. It was very crowded, and I did not go 
home till eleven o'clock. During the eve Miss Adelaide 
Phillips, a songstress of some renown, sang, and we were 
entertained by the Mendelssohn Quintette Club with some 
middling poor music. 

Friday, March 7. — Went to school all day. At night I went 
over to Hinckley's ; but I had n't been there above two or three 
minutes when Herbert came in and told me A. B. wanted to see 
me. I must say I felt very angry at his coming to another 



22 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

person's house for me; however, I went to the door and found 
that he wanted me to go with him to the Hospital to take 
some crutches to their servant. I scarcely knew what to do, 
and I was so mortified at A. for coming for me, that I almost 
would have refused on that account; but Hinckley, making 
some remarks that didn't please me exactly, such as " You may 
go whether you please or not, I shall never invite you to our 
house again, " decided me, and, almost bursting with anger as 
I was, I concluded to go with A. I believe our friendship 
— Wallace's and mine — is over; for my part, I don't think it 
would exactly correspond with my dignity to go to their house 
after what has taken place, without some explanation. 

The friendship evidently was not " over, " as he feared, for 
we find recorded : — 

Monday, March 21. — Went over to Hinckley's at night and 
had some good play, though there was a bit of a storm. 

Saturday, June 16. — Went to school in the morning. In 
the afternoon, went over to Hinckley's, and then W. F. W. , W. 
H. W. , and I took a boat and went up the river to Long Island 
to bathe. When about opposite the island, we were met by a 
boat coming down full of " Mickies. " They began asking us 
questions, such as " Where did ye hook that boat ? " that 
meant, " Where did you steal that boat ? " We made no reply. 
Then one of them said to the rest, " Let 's chase 'em and take 
their boat off 'em. " So they turned round and began to row 
like fury. I was rowing at the time ; and, our boat having 
only one pair of oars and those extremely heavy, I knew we 
could not escape even if we tried. Ours was a very large boat, 
indeed large enough for a sail-boat, while theirs was pulled by 
four or five oars, and was a very light, flat-bottomed one, ours 
being one of the few keel -bottomed ones on the river. We no 
sooner saw them coming after us than Wallace exclaimed, 
" Put her up faster! " I paid no attention to him, and think- 
ing if we could gain the shore we could lick the whole of 
them, for Frank and W. H. W. are two stout fellows ; but they 
gained on us so rapidly that we could not, without rowing 
faster, which I did not want to do, as it would seem to imply 
fear of them. Well, they caught up with us, and splashed us 
with water and the like ; but, owing to the fear of some of the 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 23 

younger fry in the "boat, they did not proceed to extremities. 
We spoke scarcely a word, and at length one of them, happen- 
ing to know Wallace, told the others to let us go; some of 
them, however, still held on, and I, having got my oar under 
their boat, could not row, but I kept pushing theirs farther 
off. He rowed off after I got my oar loose, which I did pretty 
quickly, and in bringing it over their boat to get it into the 
water again, I hit one of the gang a knock on the head ; he let 
this pass as an accident. We had our bath and tried to swim 
a little, but couldn't manage it yet. I mean Wallace and 
I, as the two Wilsons can swim now. 

TJiuTsday, June 21. — Nearly well. Got up just after 
school-time. Wrote up my journal. I will write down a 
verse I made when I was sick in bed. 

THE PATRIOT. 

The patriot's sands are well-nigh run, 

And the blood from the deep wound gushes ; 

For his country's good his deeds were done, 
And e'en in death his pale cheek flushes. 

Beside him stands his faithful steed, 
With downcast head and drooping eyes. 

Nevermore thy faithful help he '11 need, 
Never from that low bed again arise. 

We bought a lot of fireworks. 

Monday, June 23. — Went to school all day. Went over to 
H. 's in evening, and he and I went to a political meeting on 
the Philadelphia nomination which voted John C. Fremont 
for President. Mr. Homer Bartlett, an old man, and one of 
the delegates, spoke, and very well too. The Lowell Brass 
Band was in attendance. 

Tuesday, June 24. — I went to the Library at night. I was 
rather long in looking over the catalogue, as I usually am, and 
the librarian asked me if there was any particular book I 
wanted. I said, " No," and in a short time he said, " Why 
don't you begin at the beginning of the book and go through ? " 
I was vexed, and said I had done. " Well, then, " said he, 
" you 'd better send word next time you come, and we '11 have 



24 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENE ALGE. 

the books ready for you. " I felt my cheeks burn at this, and 
also a strong disposition to throw the book at the old fool's 
head, but I didn't want to be impudent and kept quiet. I 
asked for five or six books, and he said they were out ; at last 1 
asked for one called " Kansas and Nebraska. " Yes, that was 
in. I said very quietly, " It 's a wonder. " When I went 
downstairs, I muttered, though very audibly on purpose, " Old 
saphead ! " I think he heard me, or I hope so. I 'm deter- 
mined to pay the testy old snob off yet. 

Thursday, June 26. — Went to school all day. Wallace and 
I are going to get up a debating-club. 

Friday, June 27. — W. H. and I got a box to make a plat- 
form for the speakers in our Debating Club. Went to school 
all day. The soldiers are going to have a grand review or 
parade to-day. A great many persons were summoned to Con- 
cord to give information of all rum-sellers, etc. ; they got paid 
a dollar and a half a day ; they came back in carriages, and 
went through the city with a band, brandishing bottles, etc. 

Saturdatj, June 28. — Went to school in the morning. In 
the afternoon we went into Wallace's room and held our meet- 
ing. We have only three members, including ourselves and 
J. C. W. We made a few short speeches on the State of 
Kansas (which is the object of our Club, and from which it 
is named Kansas Aid Debating Club), and elected a President 
for next meeting. We expected another boy, but he did not 
come. 

Sunday, June 29. — Got out of Sunday-school library a book 
called the " Mission, " by Captain Marryat, a very amusing 
and instructive book. 

Wednesday, July 1. — The boys are making great prepara- 
tions for 4th of July. 

Thursday, July ^rd. — Went to school all day. Marshall, 
who was absent, brought me half a pound of powder which 
I had ordered. 

The record of 4th of July is missing. 

Saturday, bth. — Did not get up till eleven o'clock. Went 
over to Hinckley's, and we went to the Doctor's and he had 
the powder in his face picked out. 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 25 

We may infer that he and his friends celebrated his first Fourth 
of July iu America in an enthusiastic and patriotic manner. 

When a child in England, young Greenhalge was examined 
by a phrenologist. It may be a matter of interest to some to 
read the report which was prepared on that occasion. The 
subsequent career of the subject of it gives it the appearance of 
prophecy in some particulars at least. 

Frederic Thomas Greenhalge, examined lohen fourteen months 
old, Sept. 23, 1843. 

The head of this young gentleman is at his age large, and 
the major part of the cerebral organs are, all things considered, 
well marked. The temperament being almost purely that of 
the sanguineous, it follows, as a necessary consequence, that the 
various mental powers will be very active and vivacious, and 
easily excited by external stimuli ; so that it may be asserted 
that he will evince great energy of mind, as well as consider- 
able force of character. He will not be easily overcome, even 
although he might be environed on either side by opposing or 
retarding circumstances ; for, having fully developed the organs 
of Firmness, Combativeness, and Destructiveness, he will be 
able to contend against difficulties, and will possess both the 
inclination and the power to strive with and also to overcome 
them. In consequence of the volume of the brain being large, 
and the temperament lively, he will have a tendency to be 
occasionally rather irascible, and not infrequently rather pre- 
cipitous ; but as the mind becomes matured from age, and is 
cultivated by study and reflection, in the same ratio will that 
tendency be modified. The functions of those organs ought not 
to be obtunded, because they greatly contribute, when properly 
directed, to the prosperity of their possessor; that being the 
case, great care ought to be taken by his guardians in endeav- 
oring to bring those under the guidance and control of the 
superior sentiments and intellect. For the realizing of which 
desideratum, benign treatment and moral suasion will be found 
eminently useful ; as will also the directing of the observing 
and reflective faculties. The organ of Concentrativeness being 
comparatively small, he may, at his initiation in learning, 



26 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

experience some difficulty in the employing of his several 
mental powers ; but so soon as he perceives the utility of educa- 
tion, this slight defect will be obviated, for his Firmness is 
great. 

He has a talent for philology, for designing, for history 
generally, and for geometry. In the study of the latter he will 
not arrive at any degree of proficiency until the several mental 
powers shall have been energized by education. His reasoning 
powers being considerable, he will excel in the abstract 
sciences. 

A. D. Scott. 

At the High School Greenhalge was always one of the 
leaders. He was one of the editors of the weekly " Voice, " 
published every Saturday for the scholars of the school. In 
one of the numbers still in existence, there is a poem of his 
called " Huntington Hall. " In this number of the paper the 
subject of debate for the next meeting of the debating-society 
to which he belonged was announced as " Kesolved : That secret 
organizations are dangerous to American institutions. " 

While in the High School, he wrote short stories for the 
" Vox Populi, " a Lowell paper. Two of these stories were 
called " A Skeleton's Soliloquy " and " The Dependant's 
Story. " 

His father objected to these literary exercises as taking too 
much of his time from his studies; but he persevered. 

All this is very suggestive. How similar the record is to 
that of many other bright boys who were afterwards heard of 
in the world as brilliant men ! These literary ambitions spring 
up the first of all, and are most often doomed to perish with 
the youth that inspired them. It shows the generous nature 
of youth before it has hardened with age, that it should be 
tempted by literature in the first flights of its ambition. 
" Youth, " said Napoleon on the " Bellerophon, " pointing to the 
young English naval officers who still seemed to reverence his 
fallen greatness and stood with doffed hats, — " youth is always 
enthusiastic. " It is so, and is generous enovigh to shame the 
worldliness by which it is too often succeeded. 

These youthful debating-clubs also, — what a nursery they 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 27 

have been for future orators and statesmen ! Eead the records 
of any of their lives, and you will find the debating-club at 
the root of their ambition ; it contains the germ of senates and 
legislatures. If Waterloo was won upon the foot-ball fields of 
Eugby and Eton, the great conflicts of Parliament and Congress 
have their genesis in these debating-societies. They are the 
source from which the mighty stream of oratory flows. 

Greenhalge entered Harvard College in 1859, after com- 
pleting his course at the High School in three years, taking 
the studies that usually occupy four years. He received the 
first Carney Medal given at his graduation, and at the pub- 
lic exercises declaimed Curran's " Universal Emancipation. " 
While in the High School, he was a member of the cricket 
club. 

As a boy, he was not especially devoted to athletic sports ; 
but he was always fond of boating and walking. In after 
years he was seldom known to ride; he always preferred to 
walk, which suited his energetic character. 

At Harvard, during his sophomore year, he rose to distinc- 
tion in the Institute of 1770, He was one of the principal 
participants in a memorable debate on Warren Hastings ; 
Gorham Philip Stevens, who died afterward of wounds received 
at Williamsburg, being his opponent. 

He was appointed orator, and Stevens the poet, of the Insti- 
tute at the close of the sophomore year; and he also became 
editor of the " Old Harvard Magazine. " Among his class- 
mates were Prof. John Fiske, ex-Secretary Fairchild, and Frank 
Higginson the banker, Mr. John Brown the publisher, Jere- 
miah Curtin, Judge Sheldon, and Captain Nathan Appleton. 
Perhaps the most intimate friend he had during this period of 
his life, and after he left college, as a young man in Lowell, 
was the Eev. I. W. Beard, now of Dover, New Hampshire, 
Eector of St. Thomas Church. Mr. Beard remained indeed 
an intimate friend throughout his life. 

Greenhalge 's brilliant career at college was cut short, and 
at the expiration of his third year he was obliged to leave 
Harvard and return to Lowell. His College, however, showed 
afterwards its appreciation of his merits, and in 1870 he re- 
ceived his degree. 



28 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

The following is an account taken from other sources of 
the famous barn oration which he delivered in his sophomore 
year, and ruined thereby his chance of gaining a scholarship. 
Greenhalge afterward naturally characterized this school-boy 
rebellion as a foolish attempt to brave the Faculty, 

Toward the end of the first term there was a hazing war 
between sophomores and freshmen, which the Faculty got wind 
of. Eight sophomores were expelled. The class considered 
this an outrage, and all loyal '63 men were ablaze with indig- 
nation. A class meeting was called in a barn on the " Appian 
Way, " and many studious men of the class, who, like Green- 
halge, had nothing to do with the hazing, left their books to 
attend. Greenhalge, together with J. Collins Warren, after- 
wards Dr. Warren of Boston, and J. F. Van Bokkelin of 
North Carolina, were appointed a committee to draft resolu- 
tions upon the outrage of the tyrannical Faculty. The com- 
mittee also prepared a petition to the Faculty demanding that 
the eight expelled men should be restored to the College. The 
three committeemen drew lots to see whose name should head 
the list, and the choice fell upon Greenhalge. Nearly all the 
class signed the petition. In presenting the resolutions and 
petition to the assembled class in the barn, the studious Green- 
halge, jealous for the honor of the class, stood forth in the role 
of a bold conspirator, and ended a fiery speech with the soul- 
stirring counsel : " Eesistance to tyrants is obedience to God. " 
Greenhalge 's barn oration is still remembered by many Har- 
vard, '63, men. The next morning the whole white front of 
University Hall displayed the legend in two-foot black letters : 
" Eesistance to tyrants is obedience to God. " The fiery young 
orator was appalled. The Faculty regarded him as ringleader 
in the whole affair, and he thought that his fate was sealed. 
He went home to Lowell, and in a few days came a letter from 
President Felton to his father, stating that the Faculty had 
always taken an interest in his son, but that now his connec- 
tion with the College had better be severed. But the matter 
was finally settled, and Greenhalge went back to college. 

Another interesting episode of his college career was the 
burial of the foot-ball. The following is the account of the 
funeral in the papers of the day : — 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 29 

BURIAL OF THE FOOT-BALL. MELANCHOLY PKOCEEDINGS 
AT CAMBRIDGE. 

Yesterday, just at dusk, the Sophomore Class of 1863 as- 
sembled with proper decorum to perform the funeral obsequies 
of the foot-ball. 

It will be remembered that the Faculty, by a vote of July 2, 
1860, prohibited the usual foot-ball match between the newly 
made Sophomores and Freshmen. 

This time-honored institution has heretofore been celebrated 
on the first Monday in September, and has been witnessed by 
hundreds of spectators, ladies and gentlemen assembled from 
Boston and vicinity, comprising all the friends of the collegians. 

The procession consisted of a grand marshal with huge 
bearskin cap and baton, assistants with craped staves and 
torches ; a coffin six feet long, inscribed " Foot-ball, 1860," 
borne by four pall-bearers; the Chaplain, with a very large 
craped hat and huge eyeglasses ; the class invalid bearers, 
inscribed '63, and having crape tied on the right leg. Behind 
the coffin were the gravestones, made of wood painted black, 
with the following inscription in white letters : — 

(Head-stone.) (Foot-stone.) 

Hicjacet Foot-Ball, 1860. 

Foot-Ball In Menioriam. 

Fightum. (Over a Winged Skull.) 

Aet. LX. Yrs. 
Obiit July 2, '60. 
Resurgat. 

The procession marched to the music of two muffled bass- 
drums to the Delta, where the foot-ball game is usually played, 
and formed a circle surrounded by a large crowd of students 
and others. The sextons dug the grave while the chaplain 
delivered the funeral oration, of which we are able to give a 
verbatim report : — 

FUNERAL ORATION. ALBERT KINTZING POST. 

Dearly Beloved, — We have met together on this mourn- 
ful occasion to perform the sad offices over one whose long and 
honored life was put an end to in a sudden and violent manner. 



30 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Last year, at this very time, in this very place, our poor 
friend's round jovial appearance (slightly swollen, perhaps), 
and the elasticity of his movements gave promise of many 
years more to be added to a long life, which even then eclipsed 
the oldest graduate's, when he arose exultant in the air, pro- 
pelled by the toe of the valiant Eopes, looking like the war- 
angel sounding the onset and hovering over the mingling fray, we 
little thought then that to-day he would lie so low, surrounded 
by weeping "Sophs." Exult, ye Freshmen, and clap your 
hands ! The wise men who make big laws around a little table 
have stretched out their arms to encircle you, and, for this year 
at least, your eyes and noses are protected. You are shielded 
behind by the segis of Minerva. But for us there is naught 
but sorrow, the sweet associations and tender memories of eyes 
bunged up, of noses wonderfully distended, of battered shins, 
the many chance blows, anteriorly and posteriorly received and 
delivered, the rush, the struggle, the victory ! They call forth 
our deep regret and unaffected tears. The enthusiastic cheers, 
the singing of " Auld Lang Syne," each student grasping a 
brother's hand, all, all have passed away, and soon will be 
buried with the foot-ball beneath the sod, to live hereafter only 
as a dream in our memories and in the college annals. 

Brothers, pardon my emotion ; and if I have kept you too 
long, pardon me this also. On such an occasion as this but 
few words can be spoken, for they are the outbursts of grieved 
spirits and sad hearts. What remains for me to say is short, 
and in the words of a well-known poem : — 

But one drum we had with its funeral note, 

As the coffin we hitherward hurried ; 
And in crape we are decked, for proudly we dote 

On the foot-ball that is soon to be buried. 

We '11 bury him sadly at dim twilight, 

As the day into night is just turning; 
With a solemn dirge by the dismal light 

Of the torches dimly burning. 

With pall and bier that 's borne by the crew, 

And the headstone carried behind them ; 
His corpse shall ride with becoming pride, 

With martial music before him. 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 31 

'Gainst the Faculty let not a word be said, 
Though we cannot but speak our sorrow ; 

We '11 steadfastly gaze on the face of the dead 
And bitterly think of the morrow. 

We think, as we hollow the narrow bed, 

And fasten the humble foot^board, 
That to-morrow at chapel we '11 see no black eyes, 

Or noses that show they 've been hit hard. 

The Faculty talk of the spirit that 's gone, 

And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him ; 
But little we '11 care, if they let him sleep on 

In the grave where a Sophomore laid him. 

'T is time that our heavy task was done, 

And I would advise our retiring. 
Or we '11 hear the voice of some savage one 

For the ringleader gruffly inquiring. 

The coffin was then lowered into the grave, and while the 
sextons filled it up, the class united in singing the following 
dirge to the tune of " Auld Lang Syne " : — 

THE DIRGE. 

Ah ! woe betide the luckless time 

When manly sports decay, 
And foot-ball, stigmatized as wine, 

Must sadly pass away ! 

(Chorus) Shall Sixty-Three submit to see 
Such cruel murder done. 
And not proclaim the deed of shame ? 
No, let 's unite as one. 

O hapless ball, you little knew 

When last upon the air 
You lightly o 'er the Delta flew, 

Your grave was measured there. 

(Chorus) But Sixty-Three will never see 
Your noble spirit fly, 
And not unite in funeral rite 
And swell your dirge's cry. 



32 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Beneath thia sod we lay you down, 

This scene of glorious fights, 
With dismal groans and yeUs we '11 drown 

Your mournful burial rites. 

{Chorus) For Sixty-Three will never see 
Such cruel murder done, 
And not proclaim the deed of shame : 
No, let's unite as one. 

Cheers were then given for the senior and junior classes, 
and groans for the Faculty, after which the procession marched 
home singing their old college songs, and the crowd, which had 
gathered, dispersed. (Greenhalge was in this procession, and I 
am not sure he did not write the dirge.) 

Then foot-ball fights were literally fights. It was not the 
modern game of foot-ball. No skill was required or displayed. 
It was a general scrimmage between freshmen and sophomores. 
Hard blows were struck, shirts were torn from men's backs, eyes 
were closed, noses broken, and blood flowed freely ; it took a lot 
of pluck to go into them. (Greenhalge was in the fight against 
the sophomores when he was a freshman.) 

In writing of Greenhalge's college life, I am fortunate in 
obtaining the assistance of some who were with him in Har- 
vard. Judge Sheldon, a friend and classmate, writes as 
follows : — 

"Governor Greenhalge, in his college life, was one of the 
marked men of his time. Then, as in his future career, his 
nature was upright and downright, frank and outspoken, 
richly endowed with ready wit and keen sarcasm, quick and 
honest, without any parade or pretence, but genial and full of 
good companionship. He was a close student ; but he already 
knew how to give his closest attention to those special objects 
of study which he most affected, and in which he regarded 
success as most valuable. Perhaps his main distinction was 
as a writer and debater. He was a powerful speaker, strong 
and earnest then as he afterwards was in public life, with a 
vigorous energy which seemed to beat down all opposition, a 
force of sarcasm which would have scorched and withered but 
for the kindness of heart which seemed to underlie his most 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 33 

trenchant invectives. But, after all, the most noticeable trait 
of his character in college was his frank and unassuming 
geniality. Simple and unaffected, readily approachable and 
kindly-natured, his lovable qualities were the more attractive 
because he was wont to cover them, or perhaps to hold them 
in half-concealed ambush behind a shelter of sarcasm, because 
he was inclined to express a tender sentiment in biting words, 
and because he never cared to guard against any misjudgment 
of his own motives or any misinterpretation of his real mean- 
ing. Absolutely independent alike in what he did, what he 
said, and what he thought, his integrity and self-reliance 
made it impossible for him to cater to the good opinions of 
others. And yet he was then, as he always remained, devoted 
to his friends. But because he loved them he trusted them 
utterly, and never could have believed it to be necessary to 
put on any disguise or any shadow of pretence to gain or to 
hold their affection ; they would not have become his friends if 
he could have conceived that their affection was thus to be 
gained or to be held. And it is perhaps because he joined 
this sturdy independence, which scorned to abase itself for the 
merely apparent honor of others, to a complete and self- 
neglecting persistence of affection which was ready to give 
all without any doubt or sense of hesitancy for the real advan- 
tage of his friends, that many of his classmates have felt his 
loss as a personal affliction, as a bereavement which comes 
close to their hearts, and makes them slow to speak their grief, 
because it seems too sacred to be put into words." 

The dark days of 1861 brought trouble into the homes of 
rich and poor. Business was interrupted at the Merrimack 
Mills. January, 1862, the corporation suspended operations. 
Business remained at a standstill for several months. William 
Greenhalgh's loss of work was followed by a long illness, which 
resulted fatally in October, 1862. Frederic Greenhalge had 
already been at home for several months caring for his father 
and tutoring a young man for Harvard, continuing his studies 
as chance afforded ; but he now bravely bade good-bye to college 
hopes and associations, and turned resolutely to the care of his 
mother and sisters. He obtained the appointment as school- 

3 



■■saBSSSSiSk 



34 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

teacher in District No. 2 of Chelmsford, in the winter of 1862 
and 1863. The old No. 2 District had the regular school equip- 
ment of those days, — a little red schoolhouse, with green-wood 
fires and lots of tough boys. But he soon proved himself a 
competent master. The first boy he flogged was the son of a 
committeeman, who, instead of taking offence, as the young 
teacher somewhat expected, treated the affair with great 
approbation. At this period he was somewhat sensitive to 
criticism and comment, and was thrown into great dismay one 
afternoon by the hurried arrival of a friend who announced that 
two young ladies of their acquaintance had set forth to visit his 
school, and were anticipating much fun from his embarrass- 
ment. He instantly dismissed the scholars, locked the door, 
and fled. In after life he used to refer with much amusement 
to the haughty manner in which he was treated by these young 
ladies on the occasion of their next meeting. 

The year 1863 was the darkest period of the war between 
the States, and it is not surprising to find that, like thousands 
of other young men, Greenhalge was drawn into the great 
conflict, and to some extent shared in its vicissitudes. With- 
out military ambition, and inspired alone by the sense of duty 
and patriotism, the youth of the nation flocked to her standards 
through all the bloody years of the war, and suffered unim- 
aginable hardships and wounds and death itself in the cause 
they held sacred. It might have been said, in the language of 
Pericles after a similar patriotic struggle in ancient Greece, — 
that the nation had seen its youth perish as the spring fades 
from the year. Greenhalge never shared in the actual fighting, 
nor was he long absent from home and at the seat of war. As 
will be seen, he failed to obtain the commission that he hoped 
for and expected, and the dreadful scourge of malaria soon 
rendered him unfit for service. Yet he is to be numbered 
with that host of distinguished and patriotic young men whom 
the nation remembers with undying gratitude for the services 
they rendered, or fearlessly tried to render, even if they failed, 
in her hour of trial and her fiery ordeal. In October, 1863, he 
tried to enlist in the army, but he was refused by the examin- 
ing surgeon, on the ground of ill health. He, however, went 
to New Berne, N. C, then garrisoned by Illinois troops, and was 



SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE CAREER. 35 

assigned to the commissary department. During the attack on 
the city in February, 1864, he offered his services in defence of 
the city, and was put in charge of the stores and detailed men 
of the Twenty-third Massachusetts Kegiment, having command 
of a force of colored men. 

Failing to obtain a commission, and being seized by malaria, 
he was obliged to leave the South, and returned home in April, 
1864 

The following extracts from his letters from the South give 
a vivid picture of his journey to New Berne, and show well the 
power of friendship he possessed, the faculty of making friends 
with all kinds of men. The letters were written to his friend, 
Ithamar W. Beard. The first is dated Nov. 21, 1863 : — 

"Do you want to learn patience, do you desire to learn 
what an unprofitable sign of nothing you really are, would 
you know the mysterious and intricate convolutions of red tape, 
get an appointment in the Commissary Department and apply 
for transportation from New York to New Berne. I love New 
York now, — but why ? Because it 's the first point I steer 
to when I take my homeward route, — when I set out for 
home (if ever I do set out) for dear old Lowell. The fact is, I 
had endless trouble in getting transportation from New York. 

When I finally got passage on board the I had a most 

miserable experience at first, — unknown, seasick, sullen, 
homesick. . . . The accommodations of the soldiers on these 
transports are shameful. Mine were very good, inasmuch as I 
was a first-cabin passenger along with a young lieutenant in 
the First N. C. Heavy Artillery. I had, during the latter part 
of the passage, a very pleasant voyage. Moonlight on Pamlico 
Sound is what you want to see, my child. I became acquainted 
with two or three good, stout Massachusetts men ; and as all 
the poor devils on board were out of rations, I won their good- 
will by furnishing them food as long as my money lasted, — 
that was not much, to be sure, but they were pleased to think 
a great deal of it." 

Another letter is dated Jan. 18, 1864: — 

" Since I last wrote, I have had several days of sickness, and 
feared much I was about to have an attack of fever. My mind 



36 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

was filled with the gloomiest apprehensions, and the thought 
of my mother's and sisters' grief, should the worst happen, was 
agony itself. As I lay half dozing on the bed, I had visions of 
home in which I heard my mother's dear familiar voice asking 
me, as of old, " How do you feel now, Fred ? " and could almost 
feel her hand on my forehead. Had I not improved consider- 
ably yesterday, the next steamer for the dear old North (you 
don't know how one gets to love the sterile old region) would 
have borne my body, alive or dead, back to my home and my 
friends." 



CHAPTER III. 

EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 

After his return from New Berne, Greenhalge resumed his study 
of law in the office of Brown & Alger. His life in Lowell was 
uninterrupted from this time until he was elected to Congress 
and went to Washington to fill his term. Steadily through 
all these years he raised himself in reputation as a man of un- 
stained integrity and brilliant talent, first among his friends 
and fellow-townsmen, then in the wider circles of State and 
national politics. It is especially interesting to trace the be- 
ginnings of such a career, and to follow its development through 
the years. 

"We do not give credit enough to young men. We forget 
Chatham's lament that he was charged with the unpardonable 
crime of being a young man. In times of public disturbance 
and war, youth comes to the front ; its energy is resistless. The 
Eepublican armies of France were led by young men. In quiet 
times of peace, however, the progress of youthful talent is slow, 
like promotion in the army. This gives rise to a storm and 
stress period in the minds of young and brilliant men ; they 
feel that they are greater than they know, that others do not 
give them credit enough ; their field of action is confined, and 
their talents do not have room for display. This leads to a 
passing mood of cynicism ; and one of his early friends has told 
me that Greenhalge was not without a trace of this cynicism 
in his youth. Eeal cynicism was foreign to his nature ; not an 
atom of it existed in his character. He was never, however, 
without a light spirit of mocking banter in private and social 
intercourse. This sometimes was misunderstood, and appeared 
to wound when nothing of the sort was intended. He had the 
reputation, with some people, of possessing a sharp tongue ; 



38 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

yet his speech was ever kindly in its purport, and known to be 
such by his friends. He had the kindest heart imaginable ; a 
spirit almost feminine in its delicacy. He was, it is true, a 
master of sarcasm ; and sarcasm in public debate is a perfectly 
legitimate weapon, employed by the great masters of eloquence, 
and by none with more force and polisli than by the subject 
of this memoir. The keen wit of Greenhalge was bright 
and sparkling, and seemed sometimes to be in a state of 
perpetual effervescence; yet, though Greenhalge possessed 
high natural spirits, the deep undercurrent of his mind was 
always serious, and he could instantly be recalled to serious 
thoughts by any pitiful tale or matter of grave import ; in- 
deed, his sparkling wit seemed only like the light and bril- 
liant waves that play over the profound depths of ocean. It 
could be instantly stilled, and he was never carried away 
by it. 

As a social companion he was delightful, and his company 
was much sought. Since his death much has been said about 
his being a remarkable example of the results of our high- 
school and college education. Truth to say, nature gave him 
great talents ; he acquired knowledge with ease and rapidity ; 
he needed less teaching than most boys. Schools and colleges 
cannot of themselves produce such men. 

Greenhalge took the leadership of men because he was gifted 
with great powers. Genius is born, not made. It shows itself 
early, and reveals itself without effort ; its movements are as 
natural almost as those of the arm or hand. It borrows from 
every quarter, and repays the debt abundantly as the moon 
gathers light. 

The personal character of Greenhalge was such as to en- 
dear him to all who knew him, such as to win the respect 
and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. His 
comrades were bound to him by hooks of steel. " Many are 
the friends of the silver tongue," and the eloquence and ability 
of Greenhalge gained him a host of friends ; but by those 
who knew him well he was beloved more for himself than for 
his gifts and talents. He was the soul of generosity and honor. 
He was absolutely unprejudiced, and judged men solely by what 
they were, without regard for the accidents of fortune. He 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 39 

loved honor, and was truly with "divine ambition puffed." 
He lived upon a high level of thought and action habit- 
ually ; he loved the common elements of human nature, and 
knew the virtues of the people ; he loved humor, and looked 
kindly upon the amusing foibles of men ; he liked those per- 
sons best who appreciated humor, and felt more at home with 
them. 

The conversation of Greenhalge was remarkably fluent and 
interesting. In whatever company he found himself he easily 
took the lead. Ordinarily his talk was light and brilliant. 
In his conversation he seemed to be seeking relaxation and to 
entertain the mind, and he never wearied his hearers ; he was 
always a very busy man, and he seemed glad to throw off the 
fetters of business and politics, and in his social intercourse 
he rarely talked of either subject unless it was introduced by 
others. He was not fond of large social gatherings, and did 
not enter much into general society. 

A brother humorist of kindred spirit has written as follows 
of his flashing wit and brilliant repartee, his love for fun, and 
the entertainment he got out of the little weaknesses of his 
friends : — 

"Greenhalge was a man of infinite wit and humor. He 
possessed the power of entertaining a room-full of people. He 
had the tact to seize upon the weak points in a man's character, 
— his little vanities, his personal peculiarities of gesture, dress, 
or speech. His wit was audacious and atrocious, although 
always kindly. His best friends were his most frequent vic- 
tims. He was not a story-teller ; I cannot remember one story 
that he ever told. He was not a punster ; I don't think he 
cared for punning, esteeming it rather a low order of wit. But 
for banter, quiet sarcasm, brilliant raillery, ready repartee, I 
never met his equal. He was always graceful in his move- 
ments and gestures. His face was one of rapidly varying 
expression ; his voice exactly fitted the thought he wished 
to express. All these instrumentalities were brought into play 
as he set before you any humorous thought. Tell him some 
slight circumstance in your own experience of a humorous 
nature, give him but the slightest hint, he would seize upon it, 
magnify it, turn it over, inside and outside, until it became 



40 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENE ALGE. 

replete with fun. I recall one such experience of my own. 
It was at the time when I was President of the Lowell 
Y. M. C. A. There was in Lowell at that time a self -constituted 
missionary, more than a fanatic in his zeal. At the same 
time there was a woman evangelist holding services in one of 
the churches. The missionary, whom we will call Jones, asked 
me to go and hear this evangelist. I went, stayed a short 
time, and came away disgusted. Jones met me a few days 
after, and asked how I liked the preaching. I stammered 
out something in the way of apology, not wishing to offend. 
Jones became very angry, and said, 'You are no Christian, 
you have never been converted, you stand in the way of the 
cause ; I shall pray the Lord to take you out of the world.' 
The whole experience amused me, and in an evil moment I 
told Greenhalge about it. In his hands it grew and grew ; to 
each new audience he gave it with an added item. He told 
how Jones met me, how at his threat my cheek blanched and 
my knees began to fail me, how at last I broke away, made 
such haste as I could to the rooms of the Y. M. C. A., got a 
special praying-band together, and that, as Jones was praying 
for my removal, the band prayed that I might be spared, until 
at last they conquered. It does not sound much of a story to 
tell, but, as I have said, to hear him run on, it was delicious. 
At another time he gave me a narrative of how he and a dele- 
gation of Freemasons attended the funeral of a brother Mason 
in a neighboring town, and, being dissatisfied with the ministra- 
tions of the officiating minister, took possession of the church 
and the proceedings, and, calling on their own chaplain, held 
supplemental services. I never quite knew how much of truth 
and how much of romance there was in this story; I do 
remember all the graphic detail and delicate touches and keen 
appreciation of the situation that he put into his narrative. 
His wit and humor were the keenest and most delightful when 
he had a listening audience and plenty of time to work up his 
matter. Sometimes, when in the midst of an elaborate narra- 
tive, he would notice that his audience were not attending or 
talking among themselves, in an irresistibly funny way he 
would shrug his shoulders, throw up his hands, and say, ' There, 
I see I have lost my audience.' Besides these long narrations, 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 41 

now and again there would flash from him in his talk a witty 
remark. I remember once a man saying to him, ' Fred, how 
bald your head is ! ' * Yes,' he replied ; ' I was born so.' Once 
again, in speaking of a man who was an indifferent lawyer but 

a very fine suiger, he said, ' is one of the best read and 

most successful lawyers at the bar, but he cannot sing at all.' 
The expression came from him in such a serious and judicial 
way that I was taken by surprise, and was obliged to think a 
moment before I detected the fallacy." 

Greenhalge had all the elements of a successful actor in 
him ; these humorous sallies were of the nature of a dramatic 
exhibition. 

The countenance of Greenhalge was striking, and full of in- 
tellectual power ; its features revealed the vigor of his charac- 
ter. It was moulded upon antique lines, and showed strength 
of will and brain power ; these revealed themselves more 
plainly as he grew older; as in the case of other leaders of 
men, the habits of control and the increased experience and 
force which he had gathered during a lifetime of effort appeared 
clearly in his face. His figure was erect and energetic, and he 
walked with an elastic and rapid step. Until the last year 
of his life he was strong and active, and enjoyed the most 
excellent health. 

A common love of nature and delight in walking led him 
and a few other friends to join together in a sort of informal 
club, and they were accustomed for many years to make ex- 
cursions into the surrounding country. Their usual place of 
rendezvous was at Willow Dale, by a lovely little lake in 
Tyngsborough, about five miles from Lowell, and kept as a 
place of entertainment by Jonathan Bowers. His life-long 
friends. Dr. Nickerson, Frederick Buttrick, and Judge Lawton, 
with others, were his usual companions on these trips. The 
storms of winter could not daunt them, nor the sun of 
July. In some of the heaviest snow-storms they have been 
known to make the journey on foot, tramping over the fields 
and through the woods. The following song, written by 
Greenhalge, commemorates in a joyous strain one of these 
excursions : — 



42 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

WILLOW DALE — A SONG. 
Air : Cockles and Mussels. 

I. 

Oh, good Johnnie Bowers, how jocund the hours 

That rang their sweet chime o'er thy glimmering lake ; 

In June or December 't is sweet to remember 
Thy crispy potatoes and juicy beefsteak. 

(Juhorus) Oh, John of the Dale 1 Oh, John of the Dale, 

We '11 praise thy good suppers, oh, John of the Dale. 

II. 

Thy face apostolic (yet just a bit frolic) 

Has brightened our banquets for many a year ; 

And now thy deep laughter would ring to the rafter, 
And wake all the echoes on mountain and mere. 

Chorus) Oh, John of the Dale, etc. 

III. 

As Life becomes drearer, our song shall rise clearer 
Among the still woodlands of sweet Willow Dale : 

We'll banish all sorrow from morrow to morrow, 
And pray that Mascuppick's bright founts never fail ! 
(fihorus") Oh, John of the Dale, etc. 

IV. 

Then soft be thy pillow beneath the green willow, 

And never may sorrow thy rosy cheek pale ; 
And we will remember, in June or December, 

To praise thy good suppers, oh, John of the Dale! 
(Chorus) Oh, John of the Dale, etc. 

In a more serious mood he records in his diary the memory 
of another journey on foot to the same place : — 

" Saturday/, Jan. 2, 1886. — Yesterday Dr. Nickerson and I 
walked to Tyng's Pond, starting at one o'clock p. m. ' What is 
rarer than a day in June ' ? Why, such a day as this second 
of January was. The deep, clear blue of the sky, the gleam- 
ing trunks of every tree, the distinct outline of mountain in 
the northwest, Monadnock rising ' in silent majesty ' — this is 
the Doctor's phrase — over all, like a noble nature above the 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 43 

crowd without any proclamations of superiority, except its 
own grand lines, conscious of truth, justice, and eternity ; the 
stillness which suggested Saturday afternoon, or was suggested 
by it, the blue ice of the pond, the deep green of the pines, 
the ineffable glories of the sunset, flooding lake, hill, woods, 
and sky with wonderful lights and wonderful influences, mak- 
ing us anxious to grasp the fleeting beauty of the day and 
keep it with us forever. And to come to more concrete things, 
the fresh, splendid pickerel, the wood-fire, and Johnnie's good 
humor made a day that ought never to have become ' the prey 
of setting sun,' and it never will." 

The following imaginary conversation, also taken from his 
diary, and written in a half-playful, half-serious style, refers 
also to the same friends and scenes: — 

B. I am tired and worn. I have been holding a long and 
troublesome conference with disagreeable people. 

G. Leave your office and come into the country with me ; 
you shall hold a conference with Nature. 

B. It would cost too much. Nature's fees are higher than 
a lawyer's. 

G. " A thousand pound, Hal, a million : thy love is worth 
a million." Give Nature your love, and you more than pay her 
bill. 

B. Do you want me to pack my valise and start for the 
White Mountains ? 

G. (by an impatient gesture waiving the White Moun- 
tains out of the question). No ; neither valise nor White 
Mountains meet the case to-day. Yes ; the recreation I offer 
to you — and observe that I dwell upon the first syllable with 
a Pogram-like accent, to show that I mean not sport or pleasure 
merely, but new life and strength — is at your door, or, as the 
real-estate brokers say, within easy reach of the post-office. 
Listen. About six miles from here is a pond, — not a lake or a 
lakelet, mind, — two miles long and three quarters of a mile 
wide ; its waters are remarkably deep and clear ; it is encircled 
by hills thickly wooded ; its shores are rocky and wild, and the 
country about it is picturesque and lonely. The nearest rail- 
road is at least five miles away. In the summer this retired 



44 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

spot is the favorite resort of the sleek, well-fed citizen and 
his invariably amiable and accomplished wife and daughters. 
Sunday-school picnics and innumerable Orders of good this and 
that invade the crystal solitude of the mere, and the tall pines 
hold their heads higher than ever to avoid seeing the fragments 
of crockery and eggshells and the scraps of newspapers which 
strew the ground. Swings and flying-horses add their delights 
and peculiar effect to the abomination of desolation which 
summer brings to this lovely bit of wilderness. But — 

B. I thank you for that " but." 

G. But when October comes, she drives these money- 
changers out of this temple of Nature. The hateful smell of 
crowds is dispersed by a scornful puff or two, and Nature has 
her own again. Then we call the pond by its sweet Indian 
name, Mascuppick, a name never breathed while the summer 
vandals are prowling about. In the journey I propose we 
have no chance of meeting those myths we read about in the 
newspapers, — the courteous baggage-master, the gentlemanly 
conductor, the obliging landlord, the efficient and popular 
steamboat clerk, and all the rest of the gang. Instead of these, 
we shall have as compagnons du voyage the northwest wind, 
the countless sweet odors of "fresh woods and pastures new," 
bevies of fleecy clouds frolicking over our heads, and the music 
of birds and trees and streams. "We shall walk. 

B. Walk ! — and how about dinner ? I can give up the 
conductor, the baggage-master, and so forth ; but I make a 
stand for the obliging landlord. 

G. You shall have the finest host in Christendom, — a 
Boniface fit for the place I have described : florid as October, 
jocund as the day, with a wit as clear as the waters of Mascup- 
pick, and a disposition as genial as the sky is to-day. 

B. Is he the summer landlord too ? 

G. Yes ; but under compulsion. His poverty and not his 
will consents to furnish entertainment for man and beast, — 
with a decided preference for tlie beast over the man of sum- 
mer. In the season he is a drudge working for his daily bread ; 
and, unlike most of his brethren, he thanks Heaven that the 
season is short ; and from September to May he is a man of 
humor, of taste, of thought. When he posts up his notice 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 45 

" Closed for the season," his soul walks abroad in its own 
majesty, and he stands redeemed, regenerated, and disen- 
thralled. Such work as comes to him in the autumn and win- 
ter he does con amove, for only choice spirits ever brave chilly 
winds and deep snow-drifts. 

B. Pardon me if I still harp upon the dinner, — a walk of 
six miles makes it a matter " hung round with honors and im- 
portance." What can your Sir Launcelot of the lake or pond 
give us? 

Cr. John of the Dale we call him. What can he give us 
for dinner ? Chickens whose necks are wrung in your sight. 
You don't want to see the process ? Well, you will profit by 
it. Hornpouts that, after baking, give occasion for discussions 
of the humanity of vivisection ; a wood-duck, in the line of pos- 
sibilities ; and of a surety a juicy beefsteak smothered in onions. 

B. " The sober certainty of waking bliss." 

G. With sincere mince-pie, and the choicest vintage of the 
apple and the grape. Cigars of one brand only, but delicate, 
rich, and true. 

B. Your description would create an appetite under the 
ribs of death. I am hungry now. Must we walk ? When do 
we start ? 

G. Ah, ah ! " Now you are flames, I '11 teach you how to 
burn." We will march in ten minutes. Are you equal to 
twelve miles over hill and dale ? 

B. I have marched twenty miles a day for a week with 
knapsack and gun in Tennessee. I fancy I can travel to this 
Mascuppick. 

G. Very well ; won't Dr. Nixon go ? He knows the place, 
and his profession lately has required long vigils of him. 

B. The more the merrier. Perhaps Buxton, the banker, 
would join us, and we should have a perfect hollow square or 
quadrangle. 

G. Telephone both of them, and ask them to report here 
instanter. They will be taken by surprise, and before they 
can calculate what their respective families and the great pub- 
lic will think about their escapade, we will have them out on 
the Mammoth Eoad by Ledge Hill chasing the flying leaves 
like two swains of Arcady. 



46 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Greenhalge was much interested at an early period of his life 
in private theatricals, and assumed various parts. He was by 
nature a good mimic, and had some of the talents of an actor. 
The parts he assumed were well executed. Nov. 21, 1867, at 
the residence of General Butler he took the part of Colonel 
Ferrier in " The Barrack Eoom," and Aminadab Sleek in " The 
Serious Family." April 22, 1869, in Lowell Music Hall, at the 
entertainment of the Lowell Boat Club's theatricals, he was 
cast for the character of Sidney Maynard in " The House- 
breaker." At the meeting to form the Channing Fraternity 
Dramatic Club, held April 27, 1873, he was one of the most 
active organisers, and, Feb. 21, 1877, volunteered for the enter- 
tainment given in aid of the relief fund of Post 42, G. A. E., and 
played a part in " The Romance of a Poor Young Man." 

Greenhalge had few business affiliations ; he was, however, 
for many years president of the City Institution for Savings. 
He was a member of several social organizations. He belonged 
to the Central Club, and afterwards to the Highland and Yorick 
Clubs. He was one of the originators and the first president 
of the Martin Luthers, which was an association formed to 
promote out-of-door sports among its members. Its outings 
were held for many years at Tyng's Island, in the Merrimac 
River, where base-ball was played in a muffin sort of way, as he 
described it, and other exercises were enjoyed. He was also 
until his death president of the People's Club, which was 
founded for the amusement and instruction of the working men 
and women of Lowell. He was president of the Humane 
Society for three years, and of the Unitarian Club. He was a 
trustee of Rogers Hall School for Girls, the Westf ord Academy, 
and the Lowell General Hospital. 

His home is surrounded by grounds in which are many fine 
old trees that he admired, and he took an interest in studying 
the various kinds. In summer he enjoyed working at times in 
the garden, and has sometimes planted and raised a crop of 
vegetables in a small plot of his own. He said one could derive 
benefit from digging in the fresh earth when depressed or out 
of health. 

In summer Greenhalge removed with his family to his cot- 
tage at Kennebunkport. When first married, he spent his 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 47 

summers at Scarborough, Maine. Greenhalge enjoyed Scar- 
borough. Its magnificent beach was to him a delight. In 
sunshine and in storm he walked there and enjoyed the wild 
prospect, the grand waves, or the blue expanse of peaceful 
waters. Among the guests of the hotel he had many warm 
friends. At Kennebunkport his cottage stands upon a hill 
overlooking the river and across it to the beach, and over the 
ocean to York and Mount Agamenticus. His piazza commands 
a magnificent view, which he never wearied of watching. He 
enjoyed bathing and boating on the river, and, most of all, 
sailing or fishing in the bay. 

Greenhalge was a man of simple tastes, and the social side of 
the life at summer seaside resorts did not appeal to him. With 
the native population and villagers he was on good terms, and 
spoke in the town on several public occasions. He was liked 
by them, as he was by the people everywhere. He always re- 
turned from the summer holidays with his face bronzed and 
burned by the sun and with increased vigor. In the last 
summer of his life he enlarged his house at Kennebunkport, 
which, alas ! he was never destined to occupy again. All his 
life he was fond of the ocean, and preferred to pass his 
summers beside it. 

He loved too the mountains ; and the memory of a walk 
which the writer enjoyed in his company over the rugged 
crest of Monadnock is very vivid. His delight in the grand 
rocks of that stern peak was intense, and he quoted this verse 
of Tennyson more than once, — 

" From scarped cliflF and quarried stone 

She cries, ' A thousand types are gone : 
I care for nothing, all shall go.' " 

In 1872 Greenhalge was married to Isabel Nesmith, daughter 
of John and Harriet Eebecca Nesmith. The father of Mrs. 
Greenhalge was a prosperous business man, and distinguished 
by many high intellectual qualities. He enjoyed the friendship 
of many eminent men, among them Charles Sumner and "Wen- 
dell Phillips. He was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Massa- 
chusetts in the same year when Governor Andrew was elected. 
Mrs. Xesmith, the mother of Mrs. Greenhalge, was a very re- 



48 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

markable woman ; and her daughter, Mrs. Greenhalge, inher- 
ited many of her characteristics. Mr. and Mrs. Greenhalge had 
four children, three sons and one daughter. The eldest, Nesmith 
Greenhalge, died in infancy ; the next was Frederic Braudle- 
some ; the third child was a daughter, Harriet. Kichard Green- 
halge, their youngest sou, most resembles his father, and was 
his adored and petted child. He is well known as " Dick " to 
a very wide circle of friends of all ages. 

The home of Greenhalge is at the corner of Wyman Street 
and Nesmith Street. It was built by him in 1878 ; the land 
on which it stands was formerly a part of the estate of Mrs. 
Greenhalge's father, and the house is near the homestead where 
she was born. It has always been the centre of a home life 
remarkable for the strong ties of affection and the community 
of spirit that bound all the members of the family together. 
Greenhalge was a most indulgent father, and was almost 
worshipped by his children. He was never known to speak a 
harsh word ; he loved his home, and was always best contented 
among his books and while sharing in the mutual enjoyment of 
home life. He was so busy a man, however, that much of his 
time was necessarily passed away from it, especially in later 
life. The petty vexations of life never seemed to disturb him. 
From its littleness he was singularly free. He possessed a 
mind above small things, and they never either depressed or 
elated him. 

Mrs. Greenhalge, his beloved wife, he reverenced as a perfect 
woman, and the felicity of their married life was without a 
passing cloud. She devoted herself to him, and, without ambi- 
tion herself, watched his public career with admiration and 
loyalty to all his best interests. To her counsels he listened, 
and he depended much upon her sterling common- sense and 
high ideals. She was a devoted wife, and, like the wife of Dis- 
raeli, was a constant support to her distinguished husband. 
Her chief interest centred in the home circle ; but where her 
husband's interests were concerned she was always willing to 
sacrifice her own preferences, and, while never going much 
abroad, always gave to public questions that concerned him her 
undivided interest and attention. 

Greenhalge, though ordinarily the most gentle of men in his 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 49 

disposition, was not incapable of that " noble rage " of Vv-hich the 
poet speaks. He was a good hater. He hated meanness and 
littleness, falseness and arrogance. Occasions that rightly called 
for such display could always raise the fire of indignation in his 
eyes and voice. His tongue was a sharp sword, and did not 
spare an unworthy victim. 

Yet, after all, the best thing that can be said of him was said 
also of Lord Macaulay by Sydney Smith : " I believe him to be 
incorruptible ; stars, garters, ribbons, titles, and wealth might 
be laid at his feet and he would not be tempted ; he sincerely 
loved his country, and could not be bribed to forsake her true 
interests." 

That verse of " In Memoriam " which he liked to quote seems 
very applicable to him now, cut off in his prime as he was, 
when we reflect upon all that he might have accomplished, all 
that he was, and would have continued to be had he lived, — 

A life ill civic action warm ; 

A soul on highest mission sent, 

A potent voice of Parliament, 
A pillar steadfast in the storm. 

It is wellnigh impossible to give an idea of the animated 
conversation of Greenhalge ; of his wit and humor, light and 
sparkling as champagne, and as impossible to recall as to give a 
form and being to the " foam of fairylands forlorn." His wit 
is hard to remember because it was so airy, so light, so efferves- 
cent, so nimble. His audience was kept perpetually smiling ; 
in the social hour he was inimitable, full of high spirits and 
good fellowship. Alas, how difficult it is to give an idea of his 
unique personality, that gave a zest to all he said ! 

To one who did not know him in his youth, his prime of 
gayety and high spirits, for " the days of our youth are the 
days of our glory," it is fortunate that he can avail himself 
of the experience of one who did know him then, who was his 
friend and comrade, the Eev. I. W. Beard, of Dover, who has 
contributed to these pages the following reminiscences : — 

" As nearly as I can remember, my acquaintance with Gov- 
ernor Greenhalge began in 1859, the year he entered college. 
I was a member of the class of 1862, he of the class of 1863. 

4 



50 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENRALGE. 

He was two years younger than myself. In those days the 
classes were comparatively small, a class of one hundred mem- 
bers being a large class ; consequently we became acquainted 
not only with our own class, but with most of the members 
of the other classes. Greenhalge and myself soon formed 
that intimate friendship which endured, without a break or one 
single breath to mar it, till the end of his life. Being both 
Lowell boys, we were mutually drawn together ; our tastes 
were congenial ; but although I was his senior in years, it was 
I who sat at his feet and not he at mine. Some things stand 
out in my mind as the characteristics of the youth Greenhalge ; 
one thing particularly, — he was a man of a manifest destiny. 
Eobert Browning in his last poem, written in his last illness, 
said of himself, — 

* One who never turned his back but 
Marched breast forward. 
Never doubted clouds would break. 
Never dreamed, though right were 
Worsted, wrong would triumph, 
Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better. 
Sleep to wake.' 

Of this verse Browning said to his daughter-in-law and sister, 
' It almost looks like bragging to say this, and as if I ought 
to cancel it ; but it is the simple truth, and as it 's true it shall 
stand.' 

" It comes to some men — and they are generally great men 
— to see themselves clearly. Lord Beaconsfield, when a youth, 
told Lord Melbourne that some day he intended to be Prime 
Minister of England. Abraham Lincoln in the days of his 
squalid poverty affirmed that he meant to be the President of 
the United States. Such a prevision of a great destiny young 
Greenhalge always had. I can remember well how in those 
early days he confidently asserted it ; to some such assurance 
might have seemed like self-conceit, and in many it would 
have been so. In Greenhalge it was only a just estimate of 
himself, and the end has justified that estimate. There was 
much of impatience with his surroundings which hampered 
and hindered him in his early youth. There was a touch of 
cynicism in his early view of things which entirely passed 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 51 

away in manhood. It was the mere chaffing on the bit of 
the race-horse that is over-eager to take his place. I think 
his college days were far from being his happiest. He was 
not the man to have borne patiently the thwarting of his 
just and lawful ambitions. He grew, throve, and mellowed 
in the attainment of his desires. I cannot think, I have often 
trembled as I tried to think, what would have resulted had he 
not attained them. Eeal worth and unusual ability do not find 
so quick a recognition when clad in the habiliments of poverty 
and obscurity. Young Greenhalge did not succeed in taking 
the place in college as a leader in his class that legitimately 
belonged to him. He was facile princeps among them all ; 
but in that microcosm, a college class, family position and 
wealth have the same undue weight that they have in the 
larger world. Such men as Greenhalge must wait to be 
crowned ; but the crown, when it is won, is all the more glori- 
ous. Yet there were happy days and hours for him in college. 
There were rare symposia in ' the resorts ' we most frequented 
when such men as Greenhalge, John Fiske, Oliver "Wendell 
Holmes, Jr., Jack Dennett, Edward Dorr McCarthy, and many 
other brilliant men got together, as they frequently did, and 
exchanged their views on literature and poetry. At one time 
he had an opportunity of showing out the independence of 
character and the fire of eloquence that was in him when his 
class reached a crisis which almost amounted to a rebellion 
against the college authorities. 

" My intimacy and friendship with Greenhalge began after- 
we had both left college and settled down to the study of the- 
law, — he in the office of A. E. Brown & E. A. Alger, I in 
the office of D. S. & G. F. Eichardson. We were in the- 
same building, only separated by the width of a hallway. It 
was our duty to come down to our offices early to sweep the 
floors and put things in readiness for the business of the day. 
It was here, broom and dust-pan in hand, that we used to 
exchange our common confidences, tell our stories, and make 
our jokes. How vividly can I reproduce in my mind those 
days ! What long talks we used to have ! How easily we laid 
aside our Blackstones or our Chittys to pass over to each 
other and while away the time that we ought each to have 



62 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

been spending upon our books ! I do not think that either of 
us in those days cared over-much for mere drudgery. It was 
the last social event we had participated in ; it was some bit 
of college news ; it was some funny thing that somebody had 
said, or a bit of quiet humor over the eccentricity or ignorance 
of some client or acquaintance. Greenhalge was rare good 
company; nobody could be dull with him. If you had one 
spark of intellect or wit or humor in you, a half -hour's conver- 
sation with Greenhalge would bring it out. He was the very 
best of talkers, because he would let you have your say ; he 
was as interested in your story as in his own. About this time 
we both felt the imperative need of earning money ; so we each 
took a country school, — I at Middlesex, he at Chelmsford, about 
two miles farther on. We walked every day to and from our 
schools over Westford Street in the bitter storms and the 
biting cold of a severe winter. It did not seem much to do 
then. I can well remember visits I made to his school, the 
conscientious work he put into his teaching, the originality 
of his methods. I remember particularly that he invented a 
'system of mnemonics' by means of which he very materially 
facilitated the task of learning. I do not remember what that 
system was. I can only recall it as an original and useful 
scheme. Later on he engaged himself to work in a bolt-shop. 
It was an irksome and utterly uncongenial employment. 
His duties were those of a common laborer. This fact shows 
his willingness to lend a helping hand in the great family 
exigency of the hour. It could not be expected that he should 
long continue in such employment. It was in these walks to 
and from school that we formed the determination of starting 
a literary society. When our school-teaching days were over, 
* The Club' — it never had any other title — was fairly launched 
on its long and prosperous voyage of usefulness and discovery. 
Its original members as I recall them were F. T. Greenhalge, 
Joseph H. McDaniels, James 0. Scripture, who died young, 
John Davis, Albert Moore, Solon W. Stevens, and myself. 
The first three in this list were as brilliant, bright, witty, and 
well-furnished men as ever were tlie members of such a club. 
As time passed on, some dropped out and others took their 
places. Among the new members were C. E. Grinnell, then 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 53 

the Unitarian Minister in Lowell, Dr. Nickerson, and Alfred 
Lamson. Our work was real work; our fun was of the 
purest and rarest. Our range of reading was wide ; we began 
with the dramatists before Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Chap- 
man, Massinger, Beaumont and Fletcher, and the rest. Our 
method was for each member to take one play, read it through 
by himself, and come into the Club and give a synopsis of 
his play and read extended passages; and so with all the 
books we took up. We read, besides this, Spenser's Faerie 
Queene and other poems. Buckle's History of Civilization, 
Dante, Tennyson, and I know not what else, for the Club 
was long-lived and did conscientious work. It is hardly neces- 
sary to say that Greenhalge was the very life of the Club. 
It was the privilege of a lifetime to listen to his reading ; he 
was a born elocutionist. Of all professional readers, I never 
heard any who could read as well as he. 

" He was unspoiled by any ' lessons in elocution.' He had 
a naturally musical voice, easily modulated to the expression 
he wished to convey ; his ready literary tact enabled him to 
seize upon any striking and dramatic incident; his intimate 
sympathy with his author enabled him at once to render the 
passage correctly and make it stand out a living thing in the 
presence of his audience. His reading was utterly free from 
the tricks of the professional ; the effect was produced by his 
own intimate sympathy with the thought. To listen to him as 
he read was like listening to a prima donna singing. What a 
discipline and education the Club was to us, the lesser wits ! 
The criticism was always friendly ; we were all of us on the 
most brotherly terms of intimacy, but woe be to the luckless 
wight of us who was guilty of a false quantity or a false 
literary allusion. It was never forgotten ; it stuck to the man 
like a burr. I remember one such when we were on the sub- 
ject of ' Ben Jonson.' One unfortunate member in good faith 
said he thought Jonson was happier in his dramas than he 
had been in his dictionary. Tliis was never forgotten ; it grew 
into colossal proportions under Greenhalge's masterly manipu- 
lation. I am sure that member learned a lesson at that time 
that has been of use to him his life long. The Club met 
one evening in every two weeks ; there was good, honest work, 



54 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

but it was not all work. There was no end of fun, and such 
fun ! There never was anything like it. It was akin to the 
' Noctes Ambrosianse ' of Kit North. First, those suppers ! 
We always had a supper, and such suppers ! I had at that 
time a good mother, the Lord rest her ! who took the liveliest 
interest in the Club ; she miglit have been its matron ; it 
was her delight to exhaust her rare skill in catering for our 
hungry stomacha While others vied with her, she easily led 
them all in the culinary art. Her pressed veal and grouse 
and cream-pies became the peculiar property of the Club. 
As Greenhalge easily led us in other things, he was not 
behind as a knight of our round supper- table. There was 
nothing of the gourmand about him, but the same refinement 
that marked him in everything was his characteristic at the 
table. He had inherited the taste for good living which is 
peculiarly English ; and that which we all keenly enjoyed he 
enjoyed with the keenest, but in his own way, and that the 
best way. 

" This allusion is not out of keeping with my subject, since the 
suppers were so distinctive a feature of our Club and so much 
a part of our fun, and he himself enjoyed them so thoroughly 
that the picture would be incomplete without it. What capped 
the climax of our hilarity was our annual picnics. One day 
was set apart in the summer to be spent out of doors, — some- 
times at Willow Dale, sometimes at Tyng's Island, sometimes 
on the banks of the Merrimac Eiver, below Belvidere. On 
these occasions there was no innocent wild hilarity we did n't 
indulge in ; there was nothing that any gentleman might do 
that any one of us would not do to add to the wild jollity of 
the occasion. I remember once, for the delectation of the 
Club, one of our tallest members bestrode a wandering cow 
that then frequented Tyng's Island, and rode about, a veritable 
Don Quixote on an original Eosinante. We had a Club song 
which was composed by Greenhalge. It originated in this 
way: When a boy in England, Greenhalge's mother used to 
sing to him an old English ballad, the first two lines of 
which only I remember. It went thus : — 

* Queen Dido sat at her garden gate 
A-darning of her stocking, Oh ! ' 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 55 

" Then a rollicking chorus came in as follows : — 

' Ri fa la la la, ri fa la la la, 
Ri fa la la, la la ly, Oh ! ' 

" Greenhalge retained the tune in his memory, and wrote our 
Club song to fit our own circumstances. A copy of this song, in 
his own handwriting, is now before me. I give it as follows: 

SONG OF THE LITERARY QUINTETTE. 

Sweet Attic nights, 

Your pure delights. 
When fled, will haunt us ever, Oh ! 

By joy and wit 

Young souls are lit ; 
Care dims the bright hours never, Oh ! 
Ri fa la la la, etc. 

Here sit unseen 

Great shades serene. 
From Tartarus, land of fable. Oh I 

Free for a time, 

These guests sublime 

Shout gayly at our table. Oh ! 

Ri fa la la la, etc. 

If from our lips 

A wise word slips, 
T is Plato or Bacon that *s croaking, Oh ! 

When the laugh rings free. 

Don't frown on me ; 
It 's that wicked Dean Jonathan joking, Oh ! 
Ri fa la la la, etc. 

Then glasses clink. 
And merrily drink. 
Good luck to the dead and living. Oh ! 
Still may we find 
Dame Fortune kind, 
More nights of jollity giving, Oh ! 
Ri fa la la la, ri fa la la la, 
Ri fa la la, la la ly, Oh ! 

" Our hilarity was not dependent upon our stimulating drinks, 
but upon our effervescing youth ; our Club drinks never exceed- 
ing coffee, pop beer, or possibly cider or claret. 



56 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" As I have said, where Greenhalge was fun must come out of 
a man if there was any fun in him. I have wished to make it 
understood that Greenhalge was not only the originator of 
the Club, but that all through its history he was the very 
inspiration and life of it. 

" The events that I have recorded cover the time between 1859 
and 1873. Changes had been gradually commg to us both. In 
1869 I was married ; in 1872 he was married. We were pass- 
ing from the light-hearted freedom of boys and youth to the 
responsibilities of manhood and family life. Up to the time of 
my changing my profession in 1873, we had been in almost 
daily personal communion ; now all this was to be changed. 
Our communication was to be limited to very occasional letters 
and still less frequent visits. We both found the responsibili- 
ties and cares of life thickening upon us ; though separated in 
body, in heart and spirit we were as much one as ever. It 
was never necessary to appeal to him for sympathy in time of 
need or affliction ; before the appeal could be made, his own 
word of courage, aid, or sympathy had come to hand. His 
heart was always a fountain of love and brotherhood, which 
never failed. The events that I remember most vividly in all 
these years of separation were his occasional visits to my home. 
Alas that they were so ' short and far between ' ! 

" Just here let me interpolate an illustration of Greenhalge's 
literary acumen and acquirements. Many years ago he called 
my attention to the use of this expression 'short and far 
between,' telling me that it was borrowed by Campbell in 
his ' Pleasures of Hope ' from a much older poem, ' The 
Grave,' by Eobert Blair, and that in borrowing it Campbell 
had misquoted and spoiled it ; that Campbell quoted it, ' few 
and far between,' which was tautological ; that in Blair it reads, 
* short and far between,' which was right. Then he went on to 
say that Blair's poem was very fine and very little known or 
read ; that he had known it since he was a boy ; that it had 
been a great favorite with his father, and that he had often 
heard his father read it. To return to my subject. Green- 
halge's visits to me were ' short and far between ; ' but if they 
were short, they were sweet. Those at Dover I remember the 
best. Twice he came to read and lecture to a little audience 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 57 

of my parishioners and friends ; on one of these occasions he 
delivered a subtly satirical paper on Tennyson's Locksley Hall. 
I recall it clearly. It was a delicious bit of satire, so delicate 
and subtle that most of his audience took it in good faith. It 
was very original in its conception, as everything was that 
came from him. He took the side of Amy ; he represented 
the hero of the poem as a cynical misanthrope, utterly im- 
practicable ; he set forth Amy's husband and Amy's home life 
in the glowing colors of domestic blessedness. I remember 
well his reading of the poem, and his own enjoyment of the be- 
wilderment of his audience. I remember afterwards one of our 
Dover young men, who was a reader of poetry, saying to me, 
' That was a fine paper of Greenhalge's, but I don't agree with 
him in his view of the poem.' But the best visits we had 
together were those when he got away from the town and the 
people, and went for a drive or a walk into the country. Two 
of them I shall never forget. The first was August 24, 
1888 ; it was a trip to Mount Agamenticus. The mountain 
was a prominent feature in the landscape from his summer 
home in Kennebunkport. He had said that he wished to visit 
it, and he came on the day appointed. Our way lay through 
South Berwick, one of the pleasantest of our New England 
villages. Nothing in the landscape missed his eye or his 
appreciative admiration as we drove along. At the foot of 
the mountain, two miles in from the main road, lived a 
veritable specimen of the old-time Yankee farmer (John 
Norman), with his wife and his son (Silas). No man had a 
keener or more kindly appreciation of such folk as this than 
had Greenhalge. His intercourse with these hardy sons of toil 
was no small part of his enjoyment of the day. It was an easy 
matter to reach the summit of this little mountain. The view 
is one that is unparalleled, in New England at least. The whole 
vast reach of seacoast, from Cape Ann to Cape Elizabeth, is 
spread out before the vision of the beholder. We easily identi- 
fied Kennebunkport. We had sufficient time fully to grasp the 
scene. When we came away, the full extent of the pleasure 
he had enjoyed and which had not found expression in gush- 
ing words, he packed into one touching and characteristic act, 
of which nobody but a poet, and nobody but Greenhalge, would 



58 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

have thought. Standing erect and viewing it, he silently and 
most gracefully threw a kiss as a lover might kiss his hand to 
his sweetheart. This may seem very sentimental to some 
minds. To me it was most beautifully, most gracefully and 
appropriately done. Those who really knew Greenhalge will 
understand and appreciate the act. It was the silent and 
expressive act of his poet's soul. Two years after this trip he 
alluded to it, saying: 'It was on August 24th, two years ago, 
that we ascended Agamenticus ; that was a day always to be 
remembered.' One more experience of this kind I must tell. 
November 22, 1890, he visited me in the same way for the 
same purpose ; this time we planned a walk of four miles into 
the country. In our way we passed through our richest 
farming region on Dover Neck, thence up Huckleberry Hill, 
whence we "got a view of a very broad sweep of water, a wide 
river on either side of us and Great Bay stretching out far to 
the southwest. In walking we met, here and there, the 
farmers in their fields domg up the last of their fall work. 
Our tramp terminated at one of these farmer's houses, ' Uncle 
John's.' We met and accosted 'Farmer Austin' and 'Farmer 
Tuttle,' a sterling man of the Quaker persuasion. It was a 
cloudy, lowery day, threatening ram. Such days had a special 
charm for Greenhalge which I could never understand. Every- 
thing in this tramp was viewed by him from the poet's point 
of view. There was not one feature of it that he did not 
idealize. ' Farmer Austin's ' prediction of a shower which did 
not come was replete with amusement for him. 'Farmer 
Tuttle' s' honest, hearty greeting touched his heart. 'Uncle 
John ' reminded him of Bismarck. I chuckled in my sleeve 
as we went along at this beautiful web of ideality that he wove 
and threw over everything and every man that he saw. It was 
not for me to brush it away ruthlessly (even if years of intimacy 
had reduced the men and the scene to the commonplace in my 
own eyes). Greenhalge's 'Dover days,' as he always called them, 
were bright spots in his weary life of care and responsibility. 

" My reminiscences are assuming inordinate proportions. I 
will make some extracts from letters illustrative of the thoughts 
I have suggested, and conclude. 

"The following is from a letter dated 'July 18th, 1874,' and 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 59 

gives a brief description of one of the Club picnics which I 
was not able to attend. He begins, 'My dear old Parson;' 
then, after some grateful allusions to some birthday gifts he 
had received, he goes on to say : — 

" After we had given up the idea of a Club picnic for Friday, 
comes a telegram from Grinnell saying he would be up in the 
9 A. M. train ready for the fray. I got it about 9.30 p. m. the 
day before ; the next day I went round to get the Club together. 
Joe was away, Albert not approachable ; but Davis and Nicker- 
son I gobbled, met the lengthy man of God, procured a carryall 
with two flaring horses, also four bottles of California claret, 
six cigars, and bowled away to Tyng's Pond. The river was 
flooded, the current awful ; we had made no preparation for 
food, and so we did n't go to the Island. At the pond we had 
to wait long for dinner, but, with that drawback, had a splendid 
day. We bathed, talked philosophy and poetry, ate and drank 
and smoked ; then drove up over the new bridge at Tyngsboro', 
and went back on the other side of the river through North 
Chelmsford, stopping at the tavern at the invitation of C. D. 
Palmer of '68, who runs a mill up there, and talked Harvard, 
drank cider, and smoked ; then we came home, Grinnell stopping 
with me. . . . We shall repeat this jollity before the summer 
is over. We missed you greatly. Accept my thanks for your 
kind [birthday] wishes. Don't talk about giving me anything. 
I am thoroughly ashamed of myself for my forgetfulness of 
duties towards you, — actual duties, you know, — and if it 
were not for my sublime confidence in what will be brought 
out by ' one of these days,' I should hide my head in shame. 

" Yours ever, F, T. Greenhalge. 

" Here follows a letter which illustrates his poet's habit of 
idealizing things and persons that he loved, and gives us a 
glimpse of a strong undercurrrent of pathetic longing for rest 
and peace from the world's rush and turmoil : — 

" My dear Ithamar, — Yours received. It came like a breath 
of pure fresh air on my heated, troublous life. I sometimes 
envy the good Rector of Groveland down in his quiet little vil- 
lage ' walking worthy of the vocation wherewith he is called/ 



60 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

performing the labor he loves, and doing good to himself and 
all around him. I should like much to be with you now in 
these golden October days, — were there ever such before since 
the world began ? Eoaming about the yellowing woods and 
" leaping the rainbows of the brooks," taking the winds into our 
pulses, and enjoying life as it should be enjoyed. But I have 
a wife, — a most excellent one, — whom I cannot leave now, 

and we cannot come together. . , . has been nominated ; 

the sordid base elements as usual were in the majority, but I 
most devoutly trust an honest Democrat will save us from the 
disgrace of this base man's election. . . . 
" Love to all. 

" Yours ever, F. T. Greenhalge. 

" Again he writes : — 

" My dear Ithamar, — I cannot tell you how surprised and 
pleased I was in reading your sermon on 'Total Abstinence,' 
etc. [Here follows a review of the sermon in flattering phrase. 
Then he goes on to say :] This is really a candid opinion, and 
in giving it I prove myself, as Punch says, a fool. But you 
won't get ' cocky ' about it, I know, and begin to dress like 
Phillips Brooks and Dean Stanley, — both stout men, I believe, 
or they ought to be for the sake of the joke. 

" I intrusted certain moneys as to Christmas presents to a 
woman, which is tantamount to saying they were not executed. 
Tell your mother so, and at the same time thank her for her 
splendid remembrance (there is a phrase for you !) of me. I was 
fortunate in my gifts, very. Grote, Aristotle, The Science of 
Law, Mass. Eeports (5 vols.), Macaulay's Lays, Khedive's 
Egypt, Evelina — ye gods ! could bounty go farther ? If it 
did it would fare worse. My love to you and yours, all 
of 'em. 

" Ever yours, E. T. Greenhalge." 

Mr. Beard here concludes his interesting reminiscences. 

Greenhalge was a man of deep religious feelings and convic- 
tions. His father's family were brought up in the Church of 
England, and on their arrival in America joined the Episcopal 
Church; afterwards Greenhalge united with the Unitarians, 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 61 

and until his death he was a frequent attendant at the Uni- 
tarian Church in Lowell. That belief was suited to his broad 
views and the nature of his mind. He was not accustomed to 
talk much on religious subjects, but it is evident that he was 
supported by a strong faith. Some of his letters and diaries 
reveal the serious nature of his thoughts. He believed in the 
goodness of God, and loved righteousness. To do good was his 
desire, and "to be known to desire to do good." He was 
unselfish, self-sacrificing on the thousand small occasions that 
occur in all men's lives when they can sacrifice their own 
feeling for others, and most often fail to do so. 

He was ambitious, but in a wholly laudable way. He was 
much mistaken and misrepresented. This is the lot of most 
active workers and leaders. The world does not give credit for 
greatness and goodness until they are proved and tried. It 
takes time to overcome men's prejudices and preconceptions. 
The strong man will overcome them if the opportunity and 
time are given him. Greenhalge won at last the confidence of 
all who knew him, and their respect for his integrity and 
worthiness. 

The following letters and notes show the real worth of the 
man: — 

Lowell, Sept. 27, 1886. 

The day is warm and sunny ; an ideal day for the moun- 
tains, whither my heart follows you. This has been so far a 
busy day with me, and on such a day there should be no busi- 
ness but with the woods, the mountains, the ocean, and the 
sky. But I know that among the mountains and close to 
the sky I shall have a faithful agent for the transaction of 
the high business to be done there, and that the richest profits 
will come down to us from the airy heights where you are 
now. 

I may go to Boston to-morrow on business ; small politics, 
relating to county offices, are buzzing round my head, and I 
detest any attempt to get me into them. 

This next letter was written to Mr. Beard at a time when he 
was undergoing the fire of a sharp criticism for a course of inde- 
pendent action in opposition to the prevailing public opinion. 



62 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

My dear Ithamar, — "Be strong," and let the clamor of 
fools go unregarded; the crowd have no right to interfere 
with thoughts and purposes they cannot comprehend. I have 
had many a heartache because I could not " suffer fools gladly," 
and I am not quite ready to do so yet ; but I cannot be bullied, 
nor can you, as those ignorant people up there with you will 
learn. 

I shall try to run up soon and get a quiet Dover day like 
that peaceful and cheering 7th of December last year. 

I was elected by a large majority. We are all comfortable. 

Love to all with you. 

Yours, F. T. Geeenhalge. 

The following letter addressed to the same friend gives us a 
glimpse of his tender sympathy and religious prmciples : — 

My dear Ithamar, — I write just a line to express my 
deep sympathy with you in your present family trouble and 
danger. Since your mother's letter was read I have counted 
the hours, and cannot help feeling a sense of relief as they go 
by and bring no message of sharper grief. I know something 
of that affliction which seems to cloud the face of a good God, 
— to rob Him of Omnipotence, — and to fill the soul and the 
mind with black darkness ; but I hope the Deliverer may come 
in all his strength and drive this affliction from you. Though 
I may doubt, I will pray. Hope on and fight on. 
I am yours in hope and trust, 

F. T. Greenhalge. 

These notes and aphorisms are selected from his diary. At 
odd times he jotted down his thoughts in it, but it was not 
kept consecutively. More often the items were written when 
he was feeling blue and depressed. 

Wednesclaij, Nov. 14, 1877. — Saw old Mr. . He is a 

fanatic, and I think an opium-eater. He wanted me and all 
my friends to sign the pledge and profess religion ! We had 
a sharp discussion, — rather amusing when it is considered 
that my mission was peace and charity and for his benefit. 
Yet he assailed me impertinently and discourteously, in a mild 



EARLY LIFE IN LOWELL. 63 

Christian way, of course, but rudely just the same. He chewed 
tobacco fiercely all the while. I told him I did n't "profess " 
religion, I tried to live it; that I did not believe in having 
more religion on hand than I could use in my daily life ; and 
that the hypocrites and humbugs who paraded their virtues at 
Sabbath-school but nowhere else and then went off and robbed 
their masters on week days, I detested and despised. He seemed 
dazed, and made no reply ; but began to talk on the business in 
hand. He took milder ground on that matter too. 

March 11, 1883. — There are times when one's body in perfect 
rest seems to be a positive pleasure to oneself. Health makes 
itself felt, and is a joy of itself, independent of action or 
thought. 

We speak of the human mind as finite. This is an assump- 
tion. The mind is, in its powers, its resources, its capacities, 
its possibilities, infinite as the spaces of the sky. As in those 
spaces we are ever discovering some new star, some new 
solar system ; so ever and again we see some new thought, 
some new power, shine out star-like in the infinite spaces of 
the mind. 

Alluding to some one unknown, he writes : " He has a 
value which impractical men are apt to overlook ; he is an in- 
terpreter between the highest order of minds and the lowest. 

You cannot play with your opportunity ; you must take it 
" for better for worse," cleaving only to it. 

When two persons meet as friends, as enemies, or what not, 
there is only one question of importance to settle, — which 
shall profit, get the most out of the other ? In whose favor shall 
the balance be struck ? You open an account as it were with 
your new acquaintance. 

Men fail nowadays from a want of courage. They mean to 
do right, but consequences loom up before their terrified vision 
in a magnified form like the spectres on the Hartz mountains. 
This or that interest may be injured, this or that friend 
offended, this or that prospect endangered; but if the right 
course has been found and decided on, if the forces of truth and 
justice are marshalled, the true man cannot be stopped by a 



64 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

flag of truce from the stronghold of iniquity, he will not stop to 
parley. 

Saturday, Nov. 17, 1883. — For myself, I have been much 
dispirited of late. I see no future before me ; an aimless life is 
death. If ambition is strong, but endurance and courage small, 
ambition is a curse. Mine is not a very selfish ambition, though. 
To do good and to be known as doing and wishing good, are 
what I seek ; and the latter half is the damned nonsense that 
breaks up the whole scheme. I don't know which is worse, — to 
do evil and be thought to do good, or to do good and be thought 
to do evil. The moral babbler will say the former is by far the 
worse. I have tried both ; the suffering is about the same. I 
feel that the world ought to know good when it sees it, even if 
the world does n't know evil always. Evil seeks disguise, good 
does not ; yet the stupid world makes mistakes as often one 
way as the other, and this fact crucifies the good man. 

A glorious November afternoon ! Such rich, soft, refined (there 
is no other word for it) light suffusing everything ! The beauti- 
ful naked trees, symmetrical and grand, with their columns, 
trunks, and their tapering airy pencil-drawn lines of sprays 
with this soft radiance over and in them as it were — are more 
beautiful to me than when robed in their June leafage. 

*' Induitur, formosissima est ; 
Exuitur, ipsa forma est." 

The half-brown, half-green grass, too, catches wondrous tints 
from the afternoon sky; our soft, mellow winter afternoons 
have never been recognized by a blind people. Oh for a Euskin 
to preach the gospel of this phase of our winter loveliness 1 



CHAPTER IV. 

POET AND WEITEK. 

Geeenhalge possessed a versatile mind ; he had much of the 
dramatic element in his character. He was a born orator, and 
had cultivated his talent to a high degree of finished excellence 
and polish. It is not strange, therefore, that we should find 
that he was always a close student of the best in literature, — 
for literary study is the basis of all oratory of the highest class. 
If action and thrice action is the secret of oratory, it is the 
study of literature that gives it ornament and style, and the 
imagination that exalts it is full of the inspiration of poetry. 

There is an oratory that speaks from the heart in simple and 
homely words, — like Lincoln's Gettysburg address, — and 
transcends in power the greatest efforts of genius. But the 
occasions and feelings that give rise to it are rare. The orator 
must depend upon his art without the aid of such sublime 
circumstances. The secret of that art resides in the classics of 
the English language. 

The love of literature is, indeed, native to the most exalted 
minds ; it reveals itself in the most unexpected places, wher- 
ever real intellectual ability exists. It animated the lofty 
mind of C?esar; it accompanied Frederick the Great to the 
camp, and graced the character of Pitt and Fox. 

Among the public men of America, however, it is not so 
commonly found as to make it pass without remark. Ameri- 
cans lack the leisure to cultivate a love of letters ; we are 
engrossed in business, and our statesmen are practical men, — 
this is our excuse, but a poor one. If literature were one of 
the ideals of American life, we should find it instilled in the 
young, and putting forth shoots. It is not inconsistent with 
a busy life, and is the road to excellence in public speaking, 

5 



66 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

— which is one of our principal means of government, and the 
main path of ambition. 

New England has sometimes been called the brain of our 
country ; and its authors have produced the best of our litera- 
ture. Their names are emblazoned on the walls of our legis- 
lative hall, and held in honor by America. England has 
enrolled them in the catalogue of her authors, and it is fitting 
that a Chief Magistrate of Massachusetts should have been 
inspired by their works, and a lover of letters for their own 
sake. 

Napoleon, when it was remarked that he took pleasure in 
wearing the uniform of the French Academy, replied that 
every drummer boy in his armies would think better of him for 
being something more than a mere soldier. We think the 
more of our statesmen if they are cultivated men as well as 
firm and just magistrates. 

Greeuhalge by nature was inclined to literary studies. He 
knew the imperial step in literature, which I have heard him 
say was not understood in these days of the commonplace. 
His taste was severe and chaste, and formed upon the grand 
models of our classic English. He loved his Shakespeare, and 
its volumes formed the most cherished part of his library. 
Their pithy sentences and marvellous bursts of poetry are 
everywhere underscored by his hand, with perfect precision 
pointing out the supreme passages of beauty and wisdom. 
These marked volumes of Shakespeare reveal his mind in a 
literary sense, a mind capable of appreciating the best. Shake- 
speare indeed is well fitted to be the statesman's book and 
amulet. There, if anyw^here, shall he find the nature of man 
revealed ; and if he aspire to lead mankind, let him learn their 
virtues and their foibles in the great book. Knowledge of 
men is his necessity. Greenhalge, when a young man, be- 
longed to a literary club, and there he laid the foundation of 
his knowledge of that supreme writer. 

Among modern poets, he held Tennyson to be the greatest ; 
and the wonderful art of that writer aroused his admiration. 
He liked to read his poems aloud. He was especially fond of 
reciting " (Enone, " and delivered several times a lecture which 
he had somewhat humorously prepared upon " Locksley Hall. " 



POET AND WRITER. 67 

" In Memoriam" he often quoted. He also read aloud fre- 
quently Swinburne's "Queen Mary," with great skill and 
appreciation. " Atalanta in Calydon " he was among the first 
to welcome. For Lowell he always claimed the chief place 
among American poets, and he was intimately acquainted with 
his poems. " Columbus " he read much aloud, and ranked 
it with Tennyson's " Ulysses. " One of the new poets of the 
day he held in high esteem, — William "Watson, — and was 
especially pleased with that poem of his entitled " The things 
that are more excellent. " 

Among prose writers he valued much the quaint works of Sir 
Thomas Browne, full of wisdom and truth. He was not 
unfamiliar with the grand characters of Plutarch ; and he 
might have been fitly called " one of Plutarch's men," in the 
simplicity and truth of his nature. 

He was naturally interested in political history and biog- 
raphy, and possessed many works of that class. 

Greeuhalge was not a student; but his scholarship, as far 
as it went, was exact. He was aided in this by his strong 
memory; and he did not forget his Latin, as many college 
graduates do. His classical quotations were always accurate. 

He liked novels, and read them frequently. He had in his 
library, and enjoyed reading, Balzac's works. His English 
favorites were Walter Scott and Thackeray. 

History, particularly American history, he had always 
studied, and was a well-read man in every sense of the term. 
Parkman was, I think, in his opinion, the best American his- 
torian, as he is in fact the most imaginative and interesting. 

Greenhalge loved his library, but he did not haunt the book- 
stalls. He seldom, in later life, purchased books himself; 
yet he sometimes returned home bearing a prize in triumph. 
The shelves of his library contain about a thousand well- 
selected volumes. 

He was more than a lover of literature ; he was a poet him- 
self. We have seen that the earliest stirrings of his ambition 
were in the direction of letters. As a man of letters, he might 
have achieved distinction. He possessed many of the neces- 
sary qualifications : he had the fine taste, and much of the 
imagination of a poet. In the variety of his intellectual 



68 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

powers he possessed the arsenal of a roan of letters. His 
ambition, perhaps, would have been satisfied in the republic 
of letters ; he liked seclusion and retirement, in spite of his 
active life. Yet he chose the proper sphere for his activities; 
he was a natural orator, and his eloquence was a power in the 
world. 

Authors and orators have often many characteristic qualities 
in common; they enjoy a common reward in the love and 
admiration of men. Cicero, a supreme type, from certain 
weaknesses in his character, cuts a somewhat sorry figure 
among the grand forms of Pompey and Csesar, Antony and 
Octavius ; yet he in a larger degree possesses our love. His 
weakness, after all, was rather that of his situation. The 
sword cut the Gordian knot that his rhetoric could not solve. 
Yet the greatest figure in history to many of us is the inspiring 
author or orator devoting his talent to the enlightenment of 
the human mind and the advancement of the race. 

Greenhalge was not a literary craftsman, he did not give 
up his mind to poetry as a fine art; yet it is wonderful how 
beautiful some of his poems are. Their publication needs no 
apology, and is certain to give pleasure to all who were inter- 
ested in him, and to lovers of poetry for its own sake, — a 
fact rare in political biography. 

The sonnets which he wrote are remarkable. A sonnet 
offers great difficulties in its composition. The poetic feel- 
ing is apt to disappear, the original motive to be obscured, 
overcome by the intricacies of its construction ; the result 
seems labored even if it is a work of art and beauty. Green- 
halge 's sonnets, on the contrary, are simple and natural, feel- 
ing and full of tenderness. The emotion is easily expressed, 
and the art is never too obvious. 

The poems are not the work of a literary artist, pure and 
simple ; they are free, and not labored ; they read easily, like 
the verses of a writer unwilling to be trammelled, and well 
express a spirit too earnest to spend its energy in elaborating 
decorated diction and an ornate style. They are not to be 
judged by the standard of a purely literary art. Written by 
so busy a man, they are surprising enough. The language is 
without a flaw ; true and simple, without the least striving 



POET AND WRITER. 69 

for effect. There is nothing but what is excellent, and in 
point of style natural and true. The poem that follows — one 
of the best he ever wrote — is like a flowing rivulet of har- 
mony, gentle and melodious, a sweet inundation of sound ex- 
pressing in the sad metre of " Evangeline " its burden of sorrow 
and melancholy regret. It seems not to be a work of art, 
except it be that art which nature makes. Like a soft and 
complaining stream in the green meadows, it gives its song 
spontaneously to the listening ear. It commemorates the 
death of Harriet Nesmith Coburn, untimely like his own, 
in the bloom of womanhood. 

This poem speaks for itself ; the voice of criticism is stilled 
in reading its verses. It is a beautiful performance, and is 
worthy of the name of the most distinguished author. He 
gave it no title, and it needs none. 

Still for a moment, River, the song of thy murmuring wavelets, 
Glad as thou art with the fulness the Spring pours into thy bosom ; 
Here do we anxiously wait for the first low cry of an infant, 
Eager to see and to share in the joy of the beautiful mother. 

Stillness and gloom on the hill, — deep stillness and gloom in the valley ! 

Heart-chilling silence when joy should have chanted a jubilant paean, — 

Darkness and death where life should have flashed with a multiplied splendor ! 

This is the end of our plans, — of the hopes and the fears vre had harbored ; 

Here is the castle we built laid low with a terrible ruin, 

Whelming in one great doom the beloved it should have protected ! 

Innocent joys we had pictured are blighted and withered to ashes ; 

All our fond preparations, — the toys and the love-woven raiment ; 

Lay them aside, all wet with our tears, — sweet emblems of sorrow, — 

Tender memorials now, to be cherished and wept o'er forever. 

Could not the radiant hopes that circled like cherubs around her, 

Plead with the white-faced Death, and turn him aside from his purpose ? 

Why should the fond, deep love of a mother be all unavailing ? 

Was there no pity, Lord, for the woe of a desolate fireside, 

Reft of a wife and child and plunged into uttermost darkness ? 

Poor is the comfort we offer, and weak are our words of compassion, — 

Would that their hearts could feel that 't is God who has given and — taken! 

Purest of flowers, shed fragrance around the sweet babe and its mother ; 

Softness and beauty of Spring, whose softness and beauty she loved so, 

Be with us now, as we bear her away to her rest on the hillside ; 

Softly, O River, glide on, soft and low as the voice of a mourner, — 

Long as thy current shall flow by the home her sweet presence illumined, 

Requiems chant for her, for she loved thy crystalline waters. 



70 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Oft did the voice of her gladness unite with thy musical murmurs, 
When in the sweet summer days she was borne on thy glistening surface. 
Circled with friends, while rang happy laughter and music around her. 

Father of Mercies ! we pray thee, console the fond hearts thou hast wounded; 
Soothe them with loving compassion, and tell them, in whispers angelic, 
Safely their loved ones rest in Thine arms forever enfolded. 

The three sonnets that follow are remarkable examples of the 
ease with which he wrote. They are regular in form, and the 
rhymes are not forced. The division between octave and sestet 
is observed, and they should be included in any anthology of 
American sonnets. " A sonnet is a moment's monument. " 
" 'Tis the pearly shell that murmurs of the far-off murmuring 
sea. " Much has been written about it as a form of verse. 
The writer has not much sympathy with the modern view 
that would limit it to one unvarying form, — the Petrarcan, 
— arranging the thoughts and structure like the ebb and flow 
of a wave. Rossetti used a great variety of forms, and Shake- 
speare a form of his own. Greenhalge's, as it happens, are 
very nearly regular, and cannot be criticised on this score. 
The thought, too, is translucent, and never obscure. Earely 
has true feeling been expressed more clearly in the sonnet than 
in this example ; it is like a rose exhaling its own fragrance 
without effort or self-consciousness. It was addressed to his 
wife on her birthday, on presenting her with a picture of their 
dead child. 

Oh, sweet, grave face ! No weight of years could bring 
The wisdom sitting on that smooth white brow. 
Less than a year those deep eyes shone ; and now 

To this faint image comfort bids us cling. 

Yet what rich memories from the brief life spring 

And twine round all things! — flower, and bud, and bough, 
And indoor sights and sounds, all show us how 

In his our lives were daily brightening. 

Dear spirit of our child I shine through these eyes 
And smile on us with warmer love this day 

That marks thy mother's wedding and her birth; 
Let thy loved accents thrill with sweet surprise 
Her stricken heart that -[nnes for thee alway, 
And make for her again a Heaven of Earth. 



POET AND WRITER. 71 

The sonnet upon Lake George is a word painting full of 
quiet beauty, and a charming picture of natural scenery ; and 
the one commencing " I love the busy haunts of busy men " in 
another way is equally good. Greenhalge loved nature, and 
felt its absence as a deprivation, especially during the summer 
that he was obliged to pass in Washington. 

LAKE GEORGE. 

Like silent giants stand the mountains round, 
Guarding thy sleeping form with anxious care, 
Lest some grim storm lurking in cloudy lair 
Should, with its threatening roar, open the bound. 
Now all is still, save where with silvery sound 
A hidden riU steals on thee unaware, 
Whose sweet and artless song was such a snare 
That silence listened — and so sweet death found. 

Each changing cloud, dark hill, and leafy isle, 
Seen in thy depths are clothed with softer grace, — 
Faint images, sweet as the dawning smile 
That happy dreams bring to a sleeper's face. 
Sweet Horicon ! May naught that 's base or rude 
Ever disturb thy crystal solitude 1 

THE CITY AND MY COUNTRY HOME. 

I love the busy haunts of busy men : 

The strife of courts, the bustle of the marts. 

The gathered life of all these earnest hearts 

Might fire Prometheus' fainting soul again I 

Here first is heard the voice of Science when 

Her lonely votary's secret she imparts; 

Here freshest bloom clothes Learning and the Arts, 

And thoughts flash newest from the sage's pen. 

But more I love my home on this green hill, 

Where to my window comes the evening breeze, 

Faint songs of birds, the river's mufiied sweep. 

Within, my vsdfe sings lullaby ; yet still 

Our sleepy boy will not be lulled to sleep. 

But winks and babbles at the waving trees. 

The poem entitled " Blessed are They that Mourn, " is worthy 
of any pen ; and I insert it without comment, as surely it will 
speak for itself, and is certain to win the heart of all lovers 
of poetry. It commemorates a loss common, alas ! and touch- 



72 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

ing to all humanity, — the death of a child, his infant son, 
Nesmith Greenhalge, who died July 25, 1874. 

BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN. 

Oh, when does sorrow for our lost ones leave us, 
And vanished sweetness cease to claim a tear ? 

When does the heart, freed from its burden grievous, 
Beat as of old, as though Death were not near ? 

Why, sorrow 's but the shade of the departed, 

Gentle and loving as the loved in life ; 
She calleth ever to the faithful-hearted 

To turn their hopes from earthly toil and strife. 

Some souls there are that sorrow will not enter, — 
They have not room for such a stately guest, — 

In the base earth their shallow thoughts all centre ; 
They live unpurified, and die unblest. 

But they who cherish her, although she chastens, 

Find her a friend, and not a spectre stern ; 
And ever as their brief life onward hastens, 

From her prophetic lips sweet truths they learn. 

Oh, heart of fire ! What brought thee to such meekness 1 
And, sordid soul, what maketh thee so pure 1 

Could not proud strength withstand a sick child's weakness, 
Nor selfish greed a wife's last kiss endure 1 

Ah ! pass not this mild spirit by unheeding, — 

She is the link that binds us to the dead ; 
Their voices and dear eyes are for her pleading. 

So we will keep her with us in their stead. 

She leadeth us away from fading pleasures, 
Where joy's loud trumpet sounds his own quick doom; 

And from lone heights she pointeth to the treasures 
That shine in the far land beyond the gloom. 

She does not fill us with a vain repining. 

But nerves us rather to heroic deeds ; 
For in her eyes a better hope is shining, 

As on from height to height she swiftly leads. 

Then wait, dear mourner, for that blessed morrow. 
Which, taking naught of thy fond love away. 

Will bring the sweet, deep peace that 's born of sorrow, 
And fit thee for the realms of endless day. 



POET AND WRITER. 73 

The following poems are also among his best, and with them 
I will conclude my extracts from his poetical writings : 

HYMN 

Wkittbn for the Unitarian Celebration of the Last Sunday of the 
First Century of the Republic. 

Hail to the Sabbath sweet, — the last 

Of all a century's Sabbath da)'s ! 
Float, blessed day, into the past. 

Rich with a nation's prayer and praise. 

Thy power, O God, shines through these years, 
That bound the nation's splendid morn ; 

Thy hand each needed bulwark rears. 
Thy voice 'gainst secret foe doth warn. 

Still keep, dear Lord, yon flag unfurled 

O'er Freedom's chosen citadel, — 
Cheering anew the slavish world, 

And lighting up each captive's cell. 

That faith in man teach to mankind. 

That 's born of purest faith in Thee ; 
Then tyrant can no longer bind, 

And right will rule from sea to sea. 



FALLEN LEAVES. 

I know a streamlet, deep and still. 

That through wild woods seeks out a way, ■ 

I saw it when the blasts were chill, 
And o'er it Autumn brooding lay. 

But soon the wind flung on its wave 
A gorgeous mantle of bright leaves, — 

Scarlet and gold and green ; they gave 
A glory man's art never weaves. 

And as those fallen leaves lent grace 
Unto the streamlet's darkening flow, 

And, falling, found as high a place 
As when they bloomed in Summer's glow ; 

So, though our labors seem to fail 

And low our blooming hopes are hurled. 

Like fallen leaves, they still avail 
To beautify a dreary world. 



74 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 



SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1884. 

How still and calm the day ! How still and calm 
My heart, that lately throbbed with wrath or pain ! 

The week's wild tumult now is as a psalm 
Borne faintly to us from some distant fane. 

And from the glory of this silent hour 

Confusion flies, like Satan and the night, — 

Strong truth stands forth, clothed with seraphic power, 
While cowering baseness seeks to share the light. 

See noble Purpose, clouded until now. 

Shine with the flame of Bethlehem's great star ; 

And Prophets, smiling, point us to the brow 

Whose whiteness wreaths and glories cannot mar. 

From the still height of this serenest day, 

I trace Life's motion with a clearer eye ; 
Men's deeds and lives are only God's highway 

Which leads unto His glory by and by. 

Before concluding these remarks upon Greenhalge's literary 
characteristics, it will, perhaps, be interesting to consider in 
detail some poem held by him in high esteem and admiration, 
that it may be seen how sure was his taste, how correct his 
judgment, and with what sincere appreciation he read the 
masterpiece of a great poet. 

It may thus be learned also upon what intellectual food his 
mind was nourished. The poem of " Columbus " by Lowell 
was always one of his favorites. This poem he made his own 
by his appreciation of its sublimities, as we all may do ; not 
ours the genius to conceive the words, but ours may be the 
feeling and susceptibility to receive the message and assimilate 
the thoughts. He has marked passages of this poem in 
brackets, which I quote : — 

" The trial still is the strength's complement, 
And the uncertain dizzy path that scales 
The sheer heights of supremest purposes 
Is steeper to the angel than the child. 
Chances have laws as fixed as planets have. 
And disappointment's dry and bitter root. 
Envy's harsh berries, and the choking pool 



POET AND WRITER. 75 

Of the world's scorn, are the right mother-milk 
To the tough hearts that pioneer their kind, 
And break a pathway to those unknown realms 
That in the earth's broad shadow lie enthralled ; 
Endurance is the crowning quality, 
And patience all the passion of great hearts : 
These are their stay, and when the leaden world 
Sets its hard face against their fateful thought, 
And brute strength, like a scornful conqueror, 
Clangs his huge glaive down in the other scale, 
The inspired soul but flings his patience in, 
And slowly that outweighs the ponderous globe, — 
One faith against a whole earth's unbelief, 
One soul against the flesh of all mankind. 

" It is God's day; it is Columbus's. 
A lavish day ! One day, with Life and heart, 
Is more than time enough to find a world." 



This poem he often read aloud ; it affords a good test of 
poetic sensibility ; it is grand and severe. It would naturally 
appeal to one who had suffered some of the slings and arrows 
of fortune, who had endured the dulness of fools, who had 
fought the good fight and won at last, after toil and defeat. 
He never learned, as he said, to suffer fools gladly. Only 
once does he presume to criticise, — the passage beginning 
" Let not this one frail bark, " he notes as diffuse and weak. 
This was the man who was called a hustler and place-hunter 
by some who knew him not. He sought, it is true, and found 
at last, a place in the hearts of men ; it was their service he 
sought, not his own advancement. He was in public what he 
was in private, what his intimate friends knew him to be. 
Such poems as " Columbus " are not the usual mental food of 
selfish politicians and office-seekers. 

Our political leaders wage an eager party strife, which 
seems bitter at times and fierce. It is not, however, like the 
ignoble struggle of Pompey and Csesar, ignoble in spite of its 
grandeur. 

Our statesmen can never be more than the servants of the 
people. Purely personal and selfish ambition of a high order 
is not possible to-day ; small ambitions alone can be selfishly 
gratified. Men of a high order of intellect, if not inspired by 



76 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

patriotic motives, would not be drawn into political life. What 
glistening spoil can lure them ? They cannot hope to gain 
wealth or personal power; they may desire fame, but the 
love of fame is not ignoble, it is " that last infirmity of noble 
mind. " 

In the heat of party strife our feelings may blind us ; but 
once our political leaders are lifted out of the arena of party 
into the sphere of the nation, when they become by election 
our magistrates and legislators, it is true patriotism to give 
them the credit they deserve, for the, as a rule, unselfish 
character of their efforts and the purity of their motives. 

Lincoln and Grant, thank God, are of no party. In a nar- 
rower sphere Greenhalge has come also to be of no party. 



CHAPTEE V. 

LAWYER AND ORATOR. 

Greenhalge was admitted to the Bar in 1865. For the prac- 
tice of this profession his talents were fitted in the highest 
degree, and he soon began to make his mark. The law was 
his chosen sphere of action; all his life it held an exalted 
place in his esteem and admiration. The great system of juris- 
prudence, built up slowly through many centuries of growth 
by the toiling intellects of the most eminent men, holding as 
in garnered sheaves and mighty granaries the combined experi- 
ences of millions of men and the wisdom of ages, excited his 
imagination and aroused his enthusiasm. He loved his pro- 
fession, and took pride in belonging to it. He was content to 
practise as a lawyer, though his career at the Bar was early 
interrupted by political calls and duties. He always returned 
to it with ardor and satisfaction. It was the means by which 
he gained a livelihood. It brought him the money he needed, 
and he held it in honor, as all men should hold the profession 
by which they subsist. The honors it brings would have 
satisfied him, as they well might gratify the honorable ambi- 
tion of any man. 

The sublime figure of Justice with her equal scales is rever- 
enced by all true lawyers : standing like an eternal mediator 
and peacemaker between men, it is her image that they 
behold and remember, and not the law's delay, the tedious 
litigation and the faults inseparable from any system. 

The great lawyers of England are said not often to have 
gained a high reputation as Parliamentary orators ; excellent 
speakers at the Bar have failed when called from their pro- 
fession to a seat in Parliament. It is not so here. Our 



78 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

great orators in Congress have almost without exception been 
brought up to the practice of law. 

The oratory of Greenhalge was successful at the Bar, in Con- 
gress, and upon many public platforms. It never failed to 
elicit applause. It appealed to both the mind and the imagi- 
nation of his hearers. It was never dull and formal. It was 
often unpremeditated, yet it never lacked brilliancy and force. 
His facility was remarkable, and stamped him as an orator 
by right of birth. 

Euskin has taught us that what is done well is done easily ; 
that if our work comes hard to us, if we perform it with diffi- 
culty and labor, the result will not be the perfect work of 
genius. Genius does its appointed task with ease, just as it 
is evident that Shakespeare wrote and Eaphael painted. "The 
victories of Timoleon are the best victories, — which flowed 
like Homer's verses, Plutarch said." 

Ease and grace of delivery, an unlaborious style, were 
always distinguishing qualities of Greenhalge 's oratory. Many 
instances of his remarkable readiness in debate and on the 
stump are well known. He was never at fault for lack of time 
and preparation. He was also an inspiring speaker; he 
aroused enthusiasm and excited interest. There were energy 
and fire in his words. He possessed the secret of action to 
animate his words, his gestures, and his face. The audience 
never sat unmoved, as they often have in the presence of 
many wise and weighty orators. There was a nervous force in 
him that became apparent as he spoke, and passed insensibly 
into the minds of his listeners. There was also a glamour 
about his oratory, — the glamour of poetry and imagination. 
This cast a glow over his words. His speeches were enriched 
with imagery, and he borrowed phrases and passages from 
the poets. He never lacked an apt allusion or quotation to 
illustrate what he said. " Eidet domus argento, " — " The 
house laughs with silver, " — how fine a suggestion to fling 
into a tedious debate on the Silver Bill in Congress was this 
verse of Horace ! It might have come from the lips of Burke 
or Fox. It gave lustre to his speech, and raised it at once 
above the tiresome routine of debate. 

Greenhalge was an impractical speaker, if to be practical 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 79 

means weight and wisdom with tediousness and without 
illumination. He could speak, and speak well, upon the spur 
of the moment, without preparation. He could trust to him- 
self to respond to a sudden call, and perhaps he placed too 
much reliance on his readiness of speech. He spoke latterly 
much too often, and upon too many comparatively trivial 
occasions, to be able to do full credit to himself. The people 
have come to make such innumerable demands upon the time 
and strength of the Governor of the State in the character of a 
public speaker, that if he is to fulfil his engagements it must 
be often in a perfunctory manner. The fire and energy of an 
orator are not inexhaustible. Whenever time and opportunity 
were afforded him, Greenhalge thought a great deal about his 
speeches ; they occupied his mind a long time in their prepa- 
ration. He was accustomed to make many notes. His best 
orations were always so prepared. 

But it was his alertness and readiness of speech that singled 
him out among his compeers, and distinguished him as a born 
debater. Congress would have been his fitting sphere. Had 
not defeat withdrawn him from that arena, he would have 
risen high. He possessed courage also, and could not have 
been daunted, — that courage which draws to itself the 
suffrages of all men, which more than all other qualities 
makes men admired and followed. He had the highest form 
of courage, — moral courage, the courage of his convictions. 
This made his eloquence valuable to the world, a power for 
good. He needed no time to think and prepare his words 
when once he heard in Congress the fame of Massachusetts im- 
pugned and insulted. He had come into the hall suddenly in 
time to hear the close of an invidious and insulting speech, 
whose mark was the reputation and honor of the State he 
revered as his own ; his tongue did not fail him then, neither 
did his heart. He replied with force and effect, and his de- 
fence was instantaneous. He was never caught without his 
arms, — his sword and shield. In his reply he said : — 

" Mr. Chairman, I am sorry that a discussion of an impor- 
tant appropriation bill has called forth so much acrimony in 
this House. As a colleague of mine has reminded me, with 
an Indian outbreak upon our hands — with ' Hannibal at the 



80 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENEALGE. 

gates ' — it is singular that so much virulent opposition should 
be manifested to the bill now before the House. I came into 
the hall a few moments ago, and heard a few of the closing 
sentences of the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Stone]. I can- 
not understand the motive or the animus of his opposition to 
the bill before the House. I do not comprehend the reason 
of the severe denunciation which even the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts has received at his hands. 

" I only know, Mr. Chairman, that whenever any man ' runs 
amuck,' whenever he is demoralized, and ceases to be master of 
whatever mind he may have, there is an attack made upon the 
Commonwealth which for a month or two to come I have 
the honor — a sort of obituary honor — to represent in part. 
Now I desired to ask the gentleman from Missouri (but, con- 
tent with his triumph, he has retired suddenly from the House) 
one momentous question, and that was, whether his attack 
upon Massachusetts was prepared before the 4th of November 
or subsequently. His answer might have had an important 
effect upon my manner of treating that attack. I should admit 
that if his remarks were composed after the 4th of November, 
there was much truth in what he said. If they were composed 
before the 4th of November, then I should resent with all my 
power, with all my force, little as it may be, any attack upon 
the old Commonwealth. 

"But how these gentlemen when they want to get a breath 
of life in this Congress have to go back to 1812 ! You would 
expect from them, Mr. Chairman, words of eulogy for the 
Hartford Convention. Yet we hear none. We hear only 
the very principles which they pretend have been successful 
at the last election condemned — why? They tell us that 
those principles were wrong in 1812, but they are right in 
1890. I say that the same principles held up by that con- 
vention are what will animate the majority that will sit in 
that wonderful angle described by the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Springer) the other day — an angle of 45° — in the next 
House. Ah, gentlemen, you may think that we Republican 
representatives from Massachusetts have not amounted to 
much as you have looked upon us in this House ; but wait till 
you see our successors ! 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 81 

"Mr. Chairman, I appreciate fully the complaint which is 
growing louder and louder upon that side of the House ; and as 
' the subsequent proceedings are interesting me no more,' I 
take some pleasure in seeing the real, sincere manifestations of 
feeling upon the other side. You have a right, my friends on 
the other side (and I leave you this as a sort of farewell 
address) — you have a right to complain of the treatment of 
your Northern brothers. They do not give you fair repre- 
sentation upon their tickets, they do not carry out the logic 
of their convictions. My friend from Ohio tauntingly asks — 
no, I am not sure about its being his taunt ; he made a taunt of 
some sort or other — we have been tauntingly asked about our 
friend from Virginia [Mr. Langston]. Why do you complain 
about our action in regard to that gentleman? You were 
more disgusted, you were more irritated by the action of this 
side of the House upon the question of seating that gentleman 
than upon anything else which has been done on this side of 
the House or under its auspices. 

" Mk. Enloe. Will the gentleman allow me a moment ? 

" Mr. Greenhalge. Certainly. 

" Mr. Enloe. I made the suggestion to which you refer ; 
and I want to say that I was speaking of a matter over which 
your side had jurisdiction. You elected him to this House 
after the people had repudiated him. I say, when you have 
the right to elect at the polls, why do you not put such men 
on your presidential tickets ? 

" Mr. Greenhalge. Is that the gentleman's idea of a 
question ? [Laughter.] Well, let it go at that ! 

" Now, I say that while we certainly have done our part by 
any man who marched under the banner of the Eepublican 
party, you have the right, my friends, in the next House to 
demand your full rights. You have the right to demand the 
repeal of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution ; you 
have the right to declare for the last three amendments to the 
Constitution ; you have the right to require that the ablest 
man upon your side shall be elected Speaker, in spite of his 
record as a Confederate soldier. I say to you, act out the cour- 
age of your convictions. Be true to yourselves. The great 
trouble between political parties is that they do not state the 

6 



82 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

true issues. "VVe have had men skulking and hiding under 
this side and under the other side. Now, then, come out 
fairly and boldly, and the people of the country will have at 
least the privilege of getting the question before them stated 
fairly and honestly. Stand up, then, my friends, in the next 
House. This is my parting benediction. 

"Ah, you talk to us kindly — and I want to express my 
gratitude for the kindness of the other side of the House in 
my supposed unfortunate condition — you talk to us about the 
* lost cause.' If it were a lost cause, we should have more 
sympathy, active and vital, from the other side of the House 
than we have. It is simply because it is not a lost cause that 
you still have a rankling and ill feeling left. 

" Now, my friends, I consider it a matter of magnanimity, 
perhaps, on my part, to stand forward in these last moments 
to defend the old Commonwealth ; but in spite of her errors — 
and I stand here as one of the errors, and I know it will suit 
gentlemen on that side in one aspect, and will suit gentlemen 
on this side in another — I still say that these attacks upon 
the first Commonwealth of the Union are unworthy of the men 
who make them, and the posthumous arguments upon the 
federal elections bill, the little miserable attacks and person- 
alities, unworthy, shameful, and cowardly attacks upon the 
person of any member of this Hovise, his father, his mother, 
his ancestors in any degree, or upon members in the co- 
ordinate branch, are not worthy of any man of chivalry or 
honor or self-respect. 

" These things come too late. You project upon us an attack 
upon a bill which has gone from this House. We are ready to 
meet that attack in any proper time. "We are ready to meet it 
when it is before the House or at any other time, and still 
appeal to the chivalry and decency of the House to condemn 
this resuscitation of arguments projected months and months 
ago and then brought forward in their sepulchral shrouds, I 
hope to the contempt of the House." 

Much eloquence of a high order is buried in the law courts. 
The ability displayed by advocates in the practice of their pro- 
fession does not bring them, as a rule, wide and enduring fame. 



\ 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 83 

Yet great nations are now ruled mostly by lawyers. Carlyle 
has railed at the race of talkers who rule England ; yet the 
men of the sword have not always guided nations wisely and 
well. The world has not always advanced under their sway 
in the past. Briefless barristers are said to govern France ; in 
America the seats of the mighty are filled by lawyers. We 
honor them as a class, and elect them to high office. The laws 
of our country are their life-long study, and we believe that 
they are able to frame them wisely, that they make good 
magistrates, that their education fits them to execute the laws 
with justice and moderation. Greenhalge came into contact 
with men at many points. His legal career is a worthy object 
of emulation and imitation to his brothers of the Bar, 

The foundations of his success were laid in the practice of 
law. He was, first of all things, a good lawyer, a brilliant 
advocate, and a wise legal counsellor. He was singularly free 
from pedantry. He could brighten a dry argument with 
flashes of wit. He understood human nature, and could 
reach and influence a jury ; he studied them individually, and 
was a good reader of character. He understood his cases, and 
knew the salient points of attack and defence. He was logical, 
cogent, and urgent in his arguments. He had a clear insight 
into the great underlying principles of law ; consequently he 
understood quickly the bearings of each individual case, its 
relation to those principles and the great body of legal prece- 
dents. He had no interest in the trivialities of law, its curi- 
osities and phrases, its quiddits and its quillets. Above all, 
he was always a gentleman, a courteous advocate, gracious to 
friend and foe. He was never unmannerly or rude on any 
provocation. 

Perhaps the highest compliment he ever received as a law- 
yer, and the most gratifying, was paid to him and the opposing 
counsel in court by Judge Aldrich. The compliment itself, 
and the words that express it, are worthy of a great judge. It 
was honorable alike to the Judge and to both the counsel 
whose conduct of the case called it forth. The following is 
an account, taken from one of the papers at the time : — 

" Messrs. Greenhalge and Lilley [now Judge Lilley] were 
trying a case before Judge Aldrich. When it was closed and 



84 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

his Honor took it up, he turned to the jury and said : ' Gen- 
tlemen, I can congratulate myself and you upon the manner 
in which this case has been tried by the two able counsel in 
it. The law has been presented ably and decidedly ; there has 
been an utter absence of wrangling between attorneys, and of 
browbeating of witnesses, and it has been a rare pleasure to 
hear it. Seldom in the course of my judicial experience have 
I heard a case that has been conducted with so much legal 
ability and proper spirit ; and for these two days it has seemed 
as if the sweet spirit of lofty jurisprudence had filled this court- 
room. I congratulate the gentlemen in the case ; I congratulate 
the jurymen who have had this rare privilege, and I congratulate 
myself upon having the opportunity to sit and hear it. ' " 

Coming from Judge Aldrich at the close of a trying and 
irritating week, this expression of approval meant a great 
deal. Coming from any Judge, it would have been praise as 
high as it was rare. 

A high authority, as will be seen, has joined the name of 
Greenhalge with those of Everett and Choate and Webster ; if 
no direct comparison was intended, the compliment was great 
and well deserved. The fame of Greenhalge as an orator 
was a growing fame. The laurels that he planted would have 
attained a luxuriant growth with years. As it was, he had 
few equals in life ; he possessed the wide and varied powers 
of great speakers, — the wit, the pathos, the imagination and 
ardor, the reading, and gift of expression that have distin- 
guished them. 

The following letters, written by Senator Hoar and addressed 
to him, are unique, and, coming from such a source, as great a 
compliment as could have been paid him. They were a great 
pleasure to him, and their kind and laudatory expressions were 
highly valued. The first was written after a speech he deliv- 
ered in Worcester during the political campaign of 1891; the 
second, after his election as Governor in 1893. 

Worcester, Mass., Sept. 29, 1891. 
Hon. Frederic T. Greenhalge, Lowell, Mass. 

My dear Mr. Greenhalge, — I desire to say to you a little 
more fully than I said it last night how much I was delighted 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 85 

and stirred by your admirable speech. It seems to me nearly, 
if not quite, the best political speech I ever heard, and I have 
heard a great many. You stated the point on several ques- 
tions about which the people are in doubt, and where good men 
are apt to be confused, with wonderful clearness and vigor. 

I think you and your friends were entirely right not to pre- 
sent your name for the office of Governor this year. I suppose 
your constituents will return you next year to the House of 
Eepresentatives, which is your proper and best field of service. 
If you had been elected Governor at the end of two or three 
years, when the time for your retirement came, your district 
would very likely have another Representative, and it is impos- 
sible to say what opportunity for public service would then 
present itself. Besides, the House of Representatives is now 
a much better and larger place, especially for a man who is a 
skilful debater, than the office of Governor of Massachusetts, 
honorable and dignified as the latter may be. I have no doubt 
that if your health lasts you will have a great place in our 
national service. 

I am, with kindliest regard, 

Faithfully yours, Geo. F. Hoar. 



Worcester, Mass., Nov. 7, 1894. 

My dear Governor Greenhalge, — Amid all this " din 
and tempest " of delight and exultation, I think I ought to 
put upon record my opinion of the very great debt which the 
Eepublicans of Massachusetts owe to you for their triumph in 
this campaign. It is the only instance I think of in our 
political history where a State campaign has been made, and 
the opposition has no fault whatever to find with the State 
administration. This is peculiarly gratifying, because our 
Democratic friends would have been very glad indeed of an 
issue which should divert attention from national questions. 
This credit is yours. It is very unlikely indeed that the same 
thing will ever be said of any successor. 

I trust there will be no indelicacy in my saying to you what 
I have said very often to other people : I do not believe you 
are yourself aware of the great qualities which you possess for 



86 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

becoming a consummate orator. I do not know another person 
living in this country who seems to me to possess them to so 
large a degree. You have a beautiful, racy, fresh, and origi- 
nal style of great purity, and adapted to convey your thought, 
without diminution of its clearness or force, into the minds of 
your auditors. You have the gift of pathos, of wit, and of 
stirring lofty emotion. I do not think the public, although 
they listen, as you must yourself know, with great delight to 
your public utterances, are as yet aware of the extent to which 
you possess this capacity. I hope you will not content your- 
self with answering satisfactorily the ordinary demands which 
come to you by virtue of your public station, but that you 
will do what our other great orators did, — what Edward 
Everett, and Choate, and Sumner, and what Webster in his 
earlier years did, — take such opportunities as may come to 
you for the preparation of careful and elaborate addresses on 
great themes which will take a permanent place in literature, 
and which will contain the very best you can do with full and 
thorough study. What any of us has to say, however well it 
may be said in ordinary political discourses, is not remembered 
long. But it is to be hoped that while you are answering to 
these ordinary calls better than anybody else we have now 
upon the stage, you will find it in your power to do something 
which may live longer. 

I trust you will excuse this somewhat grandfatherly tone 
from an old fellow who has got only two years left to him of 
the seventy which the law allows, and finds it much easier to 
give good advice to youngsters than to follow good advice 
himself. 

I am, with highest regard, 

Faithfully yours, Geo. F. Hoak. 

The letter that succeeds was written to Greenhalge by Judge 
Abbott after hearing him argue a case in court, and shows how 
high an opinion that eminent lawyer had formed of his ability. 
Greenhalge had been intimate with his sons and written a 
poem commemorating the death in battle of one of them, 
Captain Henry Livermore Abbott, who was killed in the battle 
of the Wilderness. 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 87 

My dear Mr. Greenhalge, — I thank you for your kind 
note; but I am the obliged party. I have desired to make 
your acquaintance for a long time. I first knew of you by 
some kind things said by you of my sons, who I think were 
in the same school with you ; and I have watched your prog- 
ress professionally and politically since with much interest. 
I never happened, however, to be fortunate enough to hear you 
in court until the other day, when I was delighted with the 
manner in which you argued a case that did not look at first 
very promising. 

I trust your great success in politics may not tempt you 
away frorH the profession, for that would be a misfortune to 
you and the law. 

Permit me to say, I trust that I may have the pleasure of 
continuing the acquaintance so pleasantly begun. 

I have not been so long away from the city in which I spent 
the best and happiest part of my life, that I have forgotten to 
feel a warm interest in Lowell and Lowell men. 

Faithfully yours, J. G. Abbott. 

317 Commonwealth Ave., 28th of Feb. 1889. 

There is a very interesting note in the diary of Greenhalge, 
written May 15, Sunday, 1881, which illustrates his manner 
of preparing his speeches. The oration he speaks of was 
delivered at Concord on Decoration Day in that year. The 
fragment is as follows : " At home working on oration at Con- 
cord. I cannot write orations, — I have to speak them, and 
then try to remember them as the best results of the trial 
speaking, for the grand occasion. A written style for speak- 
ing is damnable. " This is significant ; he could not compose 
and polish his orations as if they were literary essays. This 
seems like the dictum of a true orator. He wanted the enthu- 
siasm of large assemblies, the electric thrill which moves the 
audience and speaker alike ; he missed the emotions born of the 
occasion that stir the heart to utterance, that unseal the lips 
and wing the orator's words with flame. To be sure, what he 
had to say he thought out and remembered as far as he could ; 
but the shape it took in his mind was not rigid and unchange- 
able. It flowed easily into new forms to receive the sugges- 



88 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

tions of the moment. It is impossible to give an idea of the 
delight and fascination with which Greenhalge's orations were 
heard when he was in his prime, when his health was at its 
best, and his spirits most high and buoyant. Only those who 
listened to him in such a happy and fortunate moment can have 
a conception of it, and they are not so numerous as may be 
supposed. He spoke too often in many political campaigns, 
and was often tired. The calls upon him as Governor were 
innumerable ; in the last years of his life his health could not 
have been perfect. Greenhalge's oratory at its best was inimi- 
table ; it was wise and witty at will ; it was full of poetry and 
pathos ; it overflowed with high spirit ; it was decorative ; it 
was delicious and rich with humor; it was a lavish repast 
spread for the mind's delight. He possessed the temperament 
of an orator; though subject to fits of depression and dis- 
couragement, it was naturally ebullient, rich in animal spirits 
and cheerfulness. 

Greenhalge did not live to reap what he had sown ; he left 
his growing fame to the people. It should not be allowed to 
wither prematurely ; they should see that it still continues to 
survive and flourish. 

It is as an orator, perhaps, that his memory will remain 
with them longest ; he made his highest mark as such, and in 
spite of the incompleteness of his life and work his name will 
be honored with those of Sumner and Phillips. He belongs 
to the glorious galaxy of Massachusetts orators, and is certain 
of a niche in her temple of Fame. 

To some people it may have seemed that the peculiar quali- 
ties of Greenhalge's mind were not such as go to the making 
of a great lawyer ; that his extreme versatility of talent, his 
brilliancy and sensibility and poetic nature, unfitted him, in a 
measure, for the serious study of the law, for the drudgery that 
it entails, the exactness and concentration that it demands. 
Such was not the opinion of his brothers of the Bar, who knew 
him best. 

He was, as a lawyer, acute, intuitive, and profound, fully 
armed and equipped for the fray, — resourceful and in the pos- 
session of ample learning. In some measure he may have 
earned the reputation of being averse to tedious labors, from the 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 89 

fact that he acquired knowledge with such ease and quickness 
that he did not seem to labor when most immersed in toil. 

He had a large practice, and might have had a larger if he 
had held aloof from politics. It was the sense of duty that 
withdrew him from the law. He did not desire or seek public 
office ; there was always a public demand for his services, and 
he could not help but hear and respond to it. It will be seen 
in this chapter that he was engaged in important causes, and 
in their conduct displayed all the powers of a good advocate. 

Judge Sheldon has written for this book the following char- 
acter sketch of Greenhalge as a lawyer. It shows well in what 
esteem he was held by the members of his profession : — 

" As a lawyer, it was well said by one of our most able 
judges that he never found it necessary to give up candor and 
manners in order to fight hard and prevail. So another emi- 
nent judge, now deceased, spoke, after presiding in a case 
which was prosecuted by Greenhalge and defended by one of 
the most skilful lawyers, of the pleasure he had felt in hear- 
ing a case fought hard and closely by men who were both able 
lawyers and upright gentlemen. He did not fail to bring out 
the whole strength of his client's position, and he was never 
reluctant to meet the hardest onset or the most obstinate 
defence that could be made by his opponent. His powers of 
oratory and discussion were unfailing ; but he never sought by 
these powers to mask any unfairness of argument or any 
distortion of truth and justice. Utterly loyal to his client, 
he was unfailing in his loyalty to the court. He was eager 
to obtain victory for his client, and he could toil terribly for 
this end ; but he could not fight his forensic battles otherwise 
than fairly and honorably. He was a sincere man ; he could 
not deceive himself, and he would not deceive others. He was 
a lover of justice, and he realized the fact, so often overlooked 
by sciolists, that under our system of administering the law 
justice can best be practically obtained when the opposing in- 
terests are each zealously supported and vindicated with the 
greatest acumen and professional ardor, with an impartial 
tribunal finally to hold the balance between them. So he 
sincerely and with an earnest zeal, but fairly and courteously, 
supported the claims of his client, and expected and welcomed 



90 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

the same conduct from his opponent. If any unfair means 
were used against him, he was capable of an honest indigna- 
tion that could trample upon such means and bring them to 
naught. He loved the truth ; and his bearing, his demeanor, 
the tones of his voice, the very features of his countenance, 
his heart and mind manifesting themselves in all that he said 
and did, showed this love of truth so plainly that none could 
fail to see and appreciate it. 

" He was successful as a lawyer. Early in his professional 
career, he found that he had obtained a good practice, which 
was increasing yearly. There is no room for doubt that had 
he continued in the active practice of his profession he would 
have attained both wealth and that measure of fame which is 
within the reach of the practising lawyer. He turned his 
attention to public affairs, and his renown is the greater. But 
he was the same man as a lawyer that he was in other walks 
of life. His practice was a varied one ; and he did all his 
work well ; it was ever his habit to rise at least to the level of 
each occasion, and to discharge successfully whatever duty 
came to his hand. ' The brave make danger opportunity ; ' 
and each new difficulty was for him a stepping-stone to new 
success. 

" I have said that he would doubtless have gained wealth had 
not his attention been turned from the law to politics. But 
he never practised law in the commercial spirit ; he was not 
inclined to magnify the pecuniary value of his services, or to 
consider his own emolument so much the object to be striven 
for as the welfare of his client. He desired professional suc- 
cess ; he was ambitious to attain it ; the contests of the Bar 
suited his eager nature. His arguments to juries were strong 
and effective, just as in political affairs his speeches were 
influential and persuasive. He knew what to say, and how 
to say it; and while his wit and sarcasm and force of denun- 
ciation made his arguments and speeches attractive and fasci- 
nating, the unflinching manliness and integrity that constituted 
the basis of his nature shone forth in all that he said, and gave 
the weight and strength that carried conviction to the minds 
of those whom he addressed. He had the qualities of the 
sound lawyer ; he was — 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 91 

' Strong to keep upright the old, 

And wise to buttress with the new, 
Prudent as ever are the bold, 
Clear-eyed as only are the true.' " 

Such was Greenhalge as a lawyer, in the opinion of Judge 
Sheldon, a high authority. As an orator his fame was of course 
far greater. He spoke upon a vast variety of occasions, — - 
anniversaries, dedications, receptions, and funerals, — all the 
multiplicity of calls that come to a distinguished speaker he 
responded to willingly, and with never-failing eloquence, if 
not always with equal brilliancy. Even before he was elected 
to Congress, his reputation was wide-spread. 

The first speech I shall mention was delivered in the Old 
South Church, Boston, in 1877 ; he spoke then in company with 
many distinguished men to demand the preservation of that 
historic building which the spirit of patriotism has saved for 
the people, that it may remain an enduring monument of the 
great deeds of their ancestors. He appealed eloquently to 
public sentiment, and introduced a striking passage from the 
history of almighty Eome. 

He delivered the Fourth of July oration in Lowell in 
1878. His speech on this occasion I have inserted entire. It 
is a good example of his style ; it is fervid and glowing, and 
full of patriotic fire. 

"Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen, — In this assembly 
there are, I presume, men of various nationalities, — men differ- 
ing from one another in religious creed, in the complexion of 
their skin, and in their condition in life. But on this day we 
are specially reminded that all who compose this promiscuous 
throng — foreign and native born, Protestant and Catholic, 
Christian and Infidel, black man and white, rich man and poor, 
— stand upon a common level; for every man before me is the 
equal of his fellow, because he is, or may be, clothed with the 
dignity of American citizenship. If I should wish to obtain an 
audience of the rulers of other lands, I should have to walk 
through lines of bayonets, through ranks of courtiers, and to 
conform in all particulars to an inexorable law of ceremony 
which is there the divine law. Here things are different. I 



92 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

know, as I look upon this assembly, made up of all classes and 
conditions of men, — of capitalists, tradesmen, laborers, — I 
know that I am standing face to face with the rulers of America ; 
there is nothing of ceremony required here, no empty forms to 
be complied with, no useless splendor, no royal pomp, — there 
is nothing royal here but the royal spirit of equality ! 

" Now, what is this equality I speak of ? We hear much 
about equality, but what does it mean as we find it here? 
They had a kind of equality in France during the Eevolution. 
If a man appeared superior to his fellows, if he had a clearer 
brain, a nobler heart, if he had more money or more virtue 
than they, the headsman's axe soon put a stop to his dangerous 
career. The old robber, Procrustes, had a craving for equality 
among mankind. When he captured a prisoner, he put him 
upon an iron bed ; if the victim was too short, he stretched him 
upon a rack until he attained the requisite length ; if too long 
for the bed, he shortened him by the simple process of amputa- 
tion. This sort of equality is equality in chains. The equality 
we mean is not of this stamp. The spirit of equality which 
prevails here is the spirit which gives the greatest opportunity 
to every man for the highest development ; which frees every 
man from the shackles of caste ; which insures to honest 
industry the reward of its labors ; which visits condemnation 
upon the base, the idle, and the vicious in whatever sphere of 
life they may be found ; which takes this man or that man 
from whatsoever source he has sprung, and, as a fitting crown 
to a life of industry, honesty, and heroic self-denial, makes him 
a ruler of the people. We read that during the transfiguration 
of the Saviour of mankind upon the mountain, the fashion of 
his countenance was altered and his raiment became white and 
glistening ; and thus, speaking with all reverence, if a man in 
our laud, however humble his station, should be transfigured 
by the divinity of genius, this garb of equality, like the raiment 
of Christ, will take on new glory and shape itself to adorn the 
exaltation of its wearer. 

" I look over and beyond these faces, and I seem to see a 
figure seated upon the hills. It is the genius of Freedom ; and 
why is it that this fair and majestic shape sits upon our hills 
and gladdens our land with her beautiful smile ? Did she 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 93 

come unsolicited ? Was she easily won ? No. She was 
chained like Andromeda to a rock, with the monster of Des- 
potism keeping guard over her, when the young nation of the 
west came, like Perseus, to slay the monster and set the 
beauteous captive free. Every right which gives sweetness 
and dignity to your daily life was paid for in the ruddy drops 
that flowed from heroic hearts, — the men who made this 
republic did indeed coin their hearts' blood into drachmse, 
and in that precious coin bought for themselves and for you 
liberty. Look at the nation's history. Upon that history 
three great wars stand out in lines of fire. When the smoke of 
the first war rolled away, the world saw for the first time a 
nation of freemen ; and a voice was heard, the voice of Thomas 
Jefferson, proclaiming that * all men are born free and equal.' 
This thought was not original with Jefferson. Fifty years 
before the Declaration of Independence was written, a French- 
man had uttered the same thought ; and a thousand years or 
more before Jefferson was born, the Eoman lawyers had written 
in their books, ' Omnes homines sunt natura sequales.' But the 
Roman and the Frenchman saw merely a radiant vision. 
Jefferson declared a living truth ; and though men in all ages 
had babbled about liberty and equality, it was in America that 
these names first became realities. And the music of those 
melodious words of Jefferson's was heard far and wide. It 
floated across the Atlantic ; the French peasant lifted his wan 
face from his sla^dsh toil, and as he caught the strange music 
that issued from the wide portals of the west, a new light came 
into his sad eyes and a new hope thrilled his heart. The Irish 
cottager heard it, and exulted as he shouldered his pike and 
strode once more swiftly forward to the midnight rendezvous 
on the lonely heath. The weary and heavy-laden of every 
clime were cheered by the voice of Freedom. Liberty in 
America illuminated not only the west ; its rays penetrated to 
the darkness of Siberia. 

" The second great war confirmed and enlarged the rights of 
the young republic. A navy sprang into being which gave 
lustre and power to a flag hitherto almost unknown. The 
declaration of human rights made by Jefferson was repeated, 
this time by the broadsides of a fleet. Men who had been torn 



94 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

from their homes by press-gangs heard that declaration of 
rights with joy ; and when Paul Jones lighted up the English 
Channel with the flashes of his victorious guns, all Europe fell 
to seriously considering this strange doctrine of freedom and 
equality, which made men fight so well. 

" And the third great war, — why, its drum-beats, its death- 
shots, are ringing in your ears to-day. Most of you remember 
the opening scenes of that war. You remember the terrible 
April days of 1861 ; you remember the great fear that fell upon 
all men, how the keepers of the house trembled, and strong 
men bowed themselves. Your own Sixth Regiment had gone 
through Baltimore then, — the two men whose bones lie under 
that column had been shot or stoned to death in that city. A 
pale and anxious people turned to Abraham Lincoln asking 
what could be done, what was constitutional and what was 
possible, could the nation be saved ; and in an agony of sus- 
pense awaited his answer. And Abraham Lincoln said calmly : 
' This is my answer. Listen ! ' And in the silence and fear of 
that terrible hour the answer came ; it was the measured tread 
of seventy-five thousand men marching unconstitutionalhj to 
save the Constitution and the country ! You remember, too, 
as the contest went on, how Bull Run went like a blot into 
our history ; how Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville fell like 
heavy blows on the nation's breast. 

"You remember how one day we heard here in our streets 
nothing but the roll of muffled drums and the strains of the 
Dead March, as we carried our dead to the grave ; how another 
day, as fresh regiments filed through the city on their way to 
battle, these streets rang with the thundering chorus, * We are 
coming, Eather Abraham, three hundred thousand more!' 
You remember, too, how Vicksburg and Gettysburg lighted up 
that memorable Fourth of July fifteen years ago, and how, at 
last, Grant's army, issuing from the hell of the Wilderness, like 
a ' thing of blood ' pinned Lee to the walls of Richmond, while 
Sherman's bayonets, glancing like lightning from the mountains 
to the sea, completed that circle of flame in which rebellion at 
length met its death ! Now, my friends, have I told you a 
tale of little meaning, — 

' A tale of little meaning, though the ■wonis are strong ' ? 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 95 

" No. It is because true-hearted men made tracks of blood 
on the snow at Valley Forge, it is because Lawrence gave up 
his heroic life in Boston Bay, it is because thousands of the 
flower of our youth are to-day lying in nameless graves in 
Southern lands, that we are able to gather here now and thank 
the God of Battles for the blessings of Freedom and of 
Peace. 

"My friends, the Genius of Freedom is a spirit fair, but 
inexorable. Other guardian deities are content with meaner 
sacrifices, — with the flesh of bullocks and the blood of lambs. 
But Freedom turns away from such offerings. She comes and 
asks the mother for the blood of her first-born ; she says, ' I 
must have the tears of the widow and the orphan ; I must see 
the anguish of strong men, — the eternal sorrow of pure hearts. 
Nothmg less will content me or purify and save the nation.' 
And you who have given these precious offerings, you who have 
built up this majestic temple where the Spirit of Freedom 
dwells with Law at her right hand and Equality upon her left, 
— will you allow a roving tramp, a communistic loafer, to raise 
his hand and harm a single stone of it ? No. Plunder and 
violence — socialism — or whatever it is called, has no place 
here. The skies of Europe may be reddened by rebellious fires, 
assassination may try to cut off an old man from the few days 
of life left him ; for Despotism begets Disaffection and Re- 
bellion, — one implies and creates the other. But there need 
be no fear from such danger here. You have heard the 

boast that 

' Britannia needs no bulwarks, 
No towers along the steep.' 

That may all be true. The danger nowadays is not from foreign 
enemies, but from internal discontent and dissension. But I 
say that this Eepublic has already erected bulwarks against 
this danger. As I stand here, I can see a chain of impregnable 
fortresses. In front I see a school-house ; just beyond stands a 
poor man's cottage, reared by the labor of years, and every 
timber in it, every blade of grass that grows around it, is as 
dear to the spirit of our equal laws as the palace of the 
millionaire ; there, behind those trees, I know that the tower 
of the Court House rises, and there I see the gleaming cross of 



96 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

a Christian church. Here we have a quadrilateral of mighty 
forces, — education, industry crowned with plenty, even-handed 
justice, and religion teaching the beauty of holiness. Here, 
too, we find no undue accumulation of property in the hands of 
one man ; we have done away with the law of primogeniture, 
which allowed one man to live in extravagant luxury while ten 
men starved at his gate ; we have freedom of bequest, indeed, 
but the law of entail is opposed to the genius of the people. 
In a small city like Lowell our owners of real estate are 
numbered by thousands ; and our laboring-classes have to-day 
some twelve millions of dollars standing to their credit in our 
savings-banks; and even the poorer laborers find their real 
interest in the well-being of society. There is another class, 
too, — a class of trained and intelligent men, who are not rich, 
who do not hold riches to be the choicest prize that earth can 
offer ; their minds are stored with the lore of the ages ; they 
keep before their eyes the noblest ideals, their ears are quick to 
catch the cry of suffering men; they take broad and philo- 
sophical views of all social questions ; they are the champions 
of the poor and the down-trodden, the heralds of science, the 
very flower of the forces of progress. Here, then, is our stand- 
ing army ; and with such fortresses and such an army we may 
emphatically say that the republic is safe. 

" But there is a danger which is to be guarded against, — a 
danger of a more insidious nature, which may gradually and 
slowly but surely corrupt and canker the wreath of blessings 
which encircles the radiant brows of Freedom. Jefferson 
dreaded this danger and warned the people against it, and 
Macaulay has described the terrible shape with the gloomy 
fervor of a Jeremiah. Political power swayed by ignorance 
and selfishness can do more harm than cannon and bayonets, 
than all the banded armies of the world. Consider that danger 
a moment. Here kingly power is put into the hands of the 
humblest citizen ; and as you hate and despise the tyranny of 
kings, see to it that our republican kings do not become tyrants. 
Ignorance is the parent of oppression. Let each man, then, 
strive to cast out ignorance. Knowledge and wisdom are hos- 
tile to tyranny, for ' oppression maketh a wise man mad.' If 
you do not want tyranny in another man, get wisdom, get 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 97 

knowledge, and when you have got them you will have more 
power but less disposition yourselves to tyrannize over your 
fellow-man. 

" The American Eevolution was achieved by a people full of 
knowledge and understanding. Every man had intelligence 
enough to know what his rights were and courage to defend 
them. The drummer-boy who was shot dead at Concord 
Bridge had studied the relations of the colony and the mother 
country as closely as Thomas Jefferson or John Adams ; and it 
was this equal education which made at once the truest and 
purest equality the world has ever seen, and the strongest 
nation. Kings, lords, and commons have passed out of sight; 
distinctions of rank are abolished; an aristocracy of wealth 
can never foist itself upon this country, — the only aristocracy 
fit to exist here is the aristocracy of virtue and intelligence, and 
that is an order of nobility to which, under our just and equal 
laws, every man can and ought to belong. If there must be 
classes of society, let the barrier be such that the cunning 
workman, the man of intellect, of skill, the man of pure life, 
the man who loves his fellow-man, may pass unchallenged 
wherever he desires to go, and find a hearty welcome. Let the 
laborer love his employer, and let his employer give him cause 
to love him. Let the poor man cultivate the virtues of sobriety 
and industry, and get rich ; and let the rich man see to it that 
the sleep of the laboring-man is sweet. 

" In some organizations, before a man is allowed to vote upon 
a question he is called upon to remember the sacred obligations 
of the order, and to consider well the effect of his action. And 
when we, fellow-citizens, are called upon to exercise the highest 
privilege of freemen, to give our opinion upon some complex 
and vital question of government, it would be well to pause a 
little and recall our obligations to the republic, to our families, 
and to our Maker. Weigh well the character of our public 
men, seek for men of honesty and ability ; but let them be, at 
all events, honest men. Honor God by honoring his noblest 
work. The old song says, * It is good to be merry and wise,' 
but it is better to be ' honest and true.' All men are selfish ; 
but there are different kinds of selfishness. One man wants 
power and greatness, and to attain his end tramples on the 



98 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENE ALGE. 

rights of his fellow-men and on every principle of honor and 
decency ; another man wants power, but wants it to make his 
fellow-men happy. His highest ambition is 

' To scatter blessings o'er a smiling land, 
And read his history in a nation's eyes.' 

" Give your interest, then, into the keeping of righteous and 
strong men, who find in your happiness tluir happiness, and 
who believe the true glory of their country to be their glory. 
And when you find a man clutching at riches while he ' fools 
the crowd with glorious lies,' deceiving and betraying a people 
whom he has sworn to protect and support, defiling a nation's 
honor for the passing applause of a mob, swindling a govern- 
ment and carrying off the swindle with a joke, — when you find 
such a man, blast him with that chosen curse which God holds 
in store for the wretch who ' owes his greatness to his country's 
ruin ! ' 

" My friends, we talk about national corruption. It is only 
the aggregate of individual corruption. There can be no 
national or public virtue without private virtue. You cannot 
reform the country until you have reformed yourselves. Let 
the work of reformation begin to-day. Eaise your own standard 
of conduct. Your public men will be compelled to conform to 
it. In this way, and only in this way, may the second century 
of the republic continue and heighten the glories of the first. 
In this way only may we be sure that in this favored land 
* there be no decay, no leading into captivity, and no com- 
plaining in our streets.' " 

The reader has already seen the note in his diary which 
tells of his manner of preparing his speeches. The address he 
was then at work upon was given on Memorial Day at Con- 
cord, Mass., May 31, 1881, and is as follows: — 

" Fkiends and Fellow-Citizens, — Twenty years ago this 
country of ours drew a full breath, and found itself a nation. 
It was amid the tumult of drum, of cannon, and the quick 
tread of marching hosts that this impulse of real national life 
was first felt. The effort made to divide the republic proved 
it to be indivisible. For four years the smoke and flame of 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 99 

civil war hid the republic from the world, and Despotism, 
sitting on his well-guarded but ever-threatened throne, pointing 
Westward, said, ' Behold ! those flames are writing the doom 
of popular government and human rights.' But a wind from 
Heaven blew, the cloud of smoke and flame was lifted, and the 
young Titan of the West was seen standing flushed and breath- 
less, covered with dust and blood, but erect and radiant as 
Hyperion, his foot upon the neck of Kebellion, his face smiling 
as he listened to the song of thanksgiving chanted by ransomed 
slaves and by a redeemed republic. 

" And so once a year — at least once a year — you assemble 
to speak and to think of the precious dead who upon the field 
of blood, in hospital or prison, have 

' sunk to rest, 
By all their country's wishes blest ; ' 

and for this purpose you have set apart and consecrated one 
of these days of the latter spring, — a flowery boundary, as it 
were, between spring and summer, when the youthful year, 
smiling farewell to gladsome May, reaches forward to take the 
roses which June is bringing, — and all over the country, from 
the sleepless founts of your Merrimac — and 7ny Merrimac — 
to the farthest sweep of the Mississippi, year by year the nar- 
rowing ranks of the Grand Army of the republic stand over 
the graves of their dead, and deck them with these garlands of 
the opening year. As your bugles and drum-beats are heard. 
Commerce droops her flag to half-mast ; Industry, with finger on 
her lips, ordains silence in workshop and factory ; and the day 
is filled with the lamentation of a great people. Lamentation, 
did I say ? Not entirely so, — no ! There is hope and joy and 
inspiration in a day like this ; and as the files of the dead are 
marshalled, and move by in solemn review to the music of a 
grateful nation's blessings and praise, and we look again into 
eyes now shining with heavenly light that we know were 
closed at Antietam, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, these bugles of 
the Grand Army, ringing from one end of the continent to the 
other, seem like the nation's challenge to Corruption and Mor- 
tality, demanding, '0 Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, 
where is thy victory ? ' 



100 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" But it may be asked, why this same memorial ceremony 
year after year ? Do these banners fly merely ' in monumental 
mockery'? Why this annual commingling of flags, drums, 
trumpets, flowers, graves, and the weak words of lamentation 
and praise ? It comes, you may say, with dreary sameness, — 
there is about it a ' damnable iteration.' No ! there is no 
sameness here. We dwell in no sleeping palace. The river 
flows by your city to-day as it did last year, and for countless 
years before, bearing to you the music of its tributary rills and 
the coolness and freshness of mountain heights. But every 
drop of water in its current is a new creation ; every wavelet, 
eddy, and ripple is a new combination of matter. There is 
nothing new under the sun, we are told. The elements are 
from the beginning ; they change not, they are the same ; and 
yet they are not the same. Their existence is in the mind of 
man ; they change as the mind of man changes, and that 
changes with the moment. You are not what you were last 
year. You differ from your former selves by the countless 
experiences of a year. Photograph the world at two different 
moments and you have two different pictures, and to the 
clear-seeing eye the difference is infinite and incalculable. 

" Look at the ' World's large spaces.' On one hand you see 
a vast empire stunned by the assassination of its ruler ; here, 
an oppressed people struggling at last into the light of freedom ; 
there, the destiny of Christendom, the movements of armies 
and fleets, diverted into new courses by the last breath issuing 
from the lips of a dying statesman ; and, in the realm of 
thought, some long-buried truth, suddenly throwing off the 
cerements of the grave, appearing before the astonished eyes 
of men, like a risen Saviour ; and all these things have 
happened within less time than is required for the earth to 
complete its flaming circle round the sun ! 

" And so we stand here this year, new beings, with new hopes 
and fears and thoughts, under new conditions and in new 
circumstances. Let me ask you if it is well to stand year by 
year over these graves, to listen to the voices which come from 
them, to take counsel of the dead. Do these voices tell us 
anything which makes it well for a great people, pressing 
onward in the rush of life and business, to pause, to listen, and 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 101 

to heed ? The men who speak to us from their urns to-day- 
are worthy of our respect. They loved their country, — they 
were ' faithful unto death.' 

" And what says this Voice that we hear above these muffled 
drums? It says, 'Keep in safety and honor and as a sacred 
trust the country which we redeemed with our blood.' What 
is it they ask of us ? Duty to our country, — patriotism. It 
is the least they can ask ; it is the most ! 

" Duty to country ? Patriotism ? What is this spirit of 
patriotism, and how is it revealed ? Is it a spirit that appears 
only with the roll of drums, amid sounds of trampling hosts 
and tragic thunders, illumined by the blaze of serried columns, 
guiding like an angry God the storm of shot and shell, and at 
last folding in bloody shrouds the dead who died for their 
country ? This is one of its manifestations, but not its best, 
or noblest, or most heroic. Thanks to the God of battles, that 
manifestation of this majestic spirit has passed ; the lustrum 
from 1860 to 1865 was filled by that terrible presence, and 
the republic lives in safety and peace. 

"How does the spirit of patriotism manifest itself to-day? 
What are the essential elements of the true patriotic character ? 
It seems to me that in this age, in this country, considering 
the work required to be done for the safety and glory of the 
country, the prime essential in the character of a patriotic man, 
the very foundation of such a character, is culture. By culture 
I do not mean the erudition which makes the mind a chaos of 
unmeaning facts. I do not mean a hurricane of information in 
which judgment goes by the board, and the whole character 
drifts about like a dismantled wreck. Nor do I mean that 
dilettante spirit which has of late been pirouetting and posing 
before the world under the name of culture ; nor do I mean 
that thin veneer of sestheticism which expresses itself so lav- 
ishly, and yet so feebly, in the painting of tiles, the decoration 
of china, the construction and arrangement of furniture and 
apparel. No ; these things are not wholly to be decried. They 
have a value ; they are blind gropings after the spirit of beauty, 
the first feeble movements of a new-born faculty, the 'infant 
crying in the night,' — 

' And with no language but a cry.' 



102 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

But culture is something broader and deeper and higher than 
all this. Culture is the equal and harmonious development of 
the physical, the intellectual, and the spiritual nature of man. 

" To the individual, culture means self-control, — a nicely 
balanced and rounded character, — the faculty to make the 
faculties of body and mind work together with the least pos- 
sible friction and to the greatest possible advantage. It means 
a body strong, graceful, and compact, fit to be the temple of the 
living God ; a soul pure, aspiring, trustful, fit to be the vice- 
gerent of God, sent to occupy and rule that temple. It means 
to the nation power, majesty, victory. Tried by the touchstone 
of a mercenary age, it is most desirable. There is money in 
it, wealth, prosperity, greatness. History shines with splendid 
instances of the truth which I state. Germany sat in the 
school-room for more than forty years ; and Sadowa, Sedan, 
Paris, were the circlet of jewels that Fate awarded to her 
faithful labors. 

" When Asiatic barbarians were thundering at the gates of 
Europe, it was a nation of scholars that confronted the invaders 
as the wardens of the continent. If we wonder when we read 
that a handful of Greeks swept a mighty host of Persians into 
the sea, we cease to wonder when we learn that the flashing 
intellect of Themistocles controlled one division of the Greeks, 
the seraphic purity of Aristides inspired another, and, better 
still, ^schylus, fresh from communion with the gods and with 
god-like Prometheus, fought with his brother in the ranks as a 
private soldier. And it was the philosophy of Franklin, the 
rich learning of Adams, Otis, Jefferson, and Lee, and the ripe 
experience of Washington that compelled men to write over 
the wide portals of the West, ' Consecrate to freedom forever.' 
And physical culture is of paramount, supreme importance ; it 
is the basis of all other culture ; without it nothing else is 
possible. The philosophic Greek knew this, and he made the 
wreath of the Olympic victor more precious than the laurels 
of poet, soldier, or statesman. 

" But culture cannot be general, effective, national, without 
loyalty to duty in all classes and conditions of men, in all walks 
of life, in humble as well as high stations. We cannot have 
virtue in our great men until we have virtue in the commonalty. 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 103 

The stern spirit of Duty leads us all at times into silent, lonely, 
and obscure places. But nowadays men tliink too much of 
public acclaim ; the trumpet must be blown before them ; they 
must have salutations in the market-place ; their good deeds 
must bring them glory of men. And true-hearted, honest men 
do their work in a spiritless and hopeless fashion, because it 
seems obscure and unimportant in the eyes of God and man. 
But I tell you there is no position in life, no station, no condi- 
tion, so humble, so obscure, so unimportant, that it cannot be 
made into a shrine where the saintly spirit of Duty may be 
enthroned and worshipped. That sentinel at his post holds 
the fate of an army in his hands ; upon the pickaxe of that 
laborer working in the street depend the health, the comfort, 
and welfare of a great city ; every stroke of that mechanic's 
hammer is telling the story of the wreck or the salvation of 
some great steamship. Lately, you have seen a world doing 
homage to that iron Captain whose genius led your bayonets in 
the path of Victory ; you have heard the name of another great 
soldier uttered by thousands of freemen as the symbol of their 
political faith ; and a third you have seen elevated to as high 
a station as any man can reach in a country where all men are 
'born free and equal.' But I tell you that high above the 
name of every captain, not upon any particular page of history, 
but upon every page and in every line, in every word, and in 
the people's heart of hearts, is written the record of that name- 
less legion who, in the ranks, in the trenches, in every place 
and post assigned them, did their work in a manly, honest, 
thorough way, and to whose simple lives, loyalty, fidelity, obe- 
dience gave a ' daily beauty ' which has now blossomed and 
brightened into immortal glory. Yes, it is the individual that 
must do the work of the world. We talk about the govern- 
ment, the party, the church, the association. These are abstrac- 
tions, and abstractions never did any real work. It is the 
individuals who compose them that must do the work ; it is you 
and I and all of us. The man who keeps his own house in 
order, who educates and maintains himself and family to the 
best of his ability, is doing patriotic work ; the man who, to 
use a common phrase, plays his game for all it is worth, is a 
true hero, — as much of a hero as the Greek who struck at 



104 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Marathon, or the soldier who made part of the living rampart 
of loyalty at Gettysburg. 

" But another force is needed to set culture in full operation, 
to give it its full effect, — courage. Men fail nowadays in their 
good works from lack of courage. They see the path of duty, 
— they mean to follow it, but they faint and fall by the way- 
side. A great opportunity comes, a great deed is to be done, 
voic3, hand, heart, are ready, a paean of joyful thanksgiving 
already trembles on the lips of angels and men, but consequences 
loom up before us like the giant spectres of the Hartz moun- 
tains; we shrmk back appalled, and Opportunity, sad as a 
rejected angel, departs from us forever. We need the calm, 
patient courage that ' looks on tempests, yet is never shaken ; ' 
that heeds not, though vituperation howls itself hoarse ; that 
falters not, though old associations are sundered, old friendships 
broken forever ; that keeps on its course in spite of the con- 
demnation of good men, not yet able to see the shining goal at 
which we aim ; that flinches not from the pale face of Failure ; 
that moves on steadily and irresistibly, step by step, rising from 
height to height, until from the clear upper air we hear a voice 
of triumph saying, * Mine is the deed that duty dictates ; the 
consequences are for God.' 

" And if to-day or at any time we hear the discordant voices 
of baseness and selfishness filling the country ; if we see False- 
hood, Fraud, and Cunning enthroned in our halls of Justice ; 
if we hear in the high places of the nation the tinkling bells 
upon the head of the fool ; if we see ambitious men standing 
on stilts and fancying themselves on pedestals ; if they, 

' like angry apes, 
Play such fantastic tricks before high Heaven 
As make the angels weep,' 

then will rise up to Heaven from the lips of every honest man 
a prayer for that heart of courage, that body of health and 
strength and grace, — that soul mighty and beautiful with true 
education and culture, — 

* That still, strong man in a blatant land — 
Whatever they call him, what care I ? 
Aristocrat, Democrat, Autocrat, one 
Who can rule and dare not lie.' 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 105 

" Thus have I attempted, in a feeble way, to interpret to you 
the voice of the Dead which speaks to us to-day. As I stand 
here, I wonder if ever in succeeding years you will shrink from 
the faces of the immortal host ? — if ever, conscious of having 
been recreant to your duty, false to the great trust they have 
committed to you, you will tremble before the indignant 
majesty of these dead soldiers when they come and ask you to 
render an account of this sacred trust ? God forbid ! Let us 
hope that in the years to come, when the last bugle of the 
Grand Army is silenced, — when all that is left on earth of the 
Grand Army itself is but dust and ashes, — that our children 
and their posterity to the latest generation may stand by the 
graves which hold these precious ashes, and, looking up at the 
radiant arch of the republic, glittering at one extremity with 
the spray of the Pacific, and at the other bright with the first 
smile of Morning as she ' rides shoreward on Atlantic waves,' 
and seeing under that vast expanse only the chosen dwelling- 
place of Liberty and Justice, Peace and Prosperity, they may 
feel and understand the goodness of the God who has given 
them ' beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning ; the gar- 
ment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.' " 

At the Semi-Centenuial of Lowell, April 1, 1886, Green- 
halge was selected for the orator of the day, and delivered 
his address in Huntington Hall. He spoke beautifully on 
that occasion, inspired by sentiments of loyalty to his native 
town. 

"]Mr. Mayor, Friends and Fellow-Citizens, — As I enter 
upon the honorable duty assigned me by your courtesy and 
partiality, I am impressed by a profound sense of how much 
of whatever tends to give comfort and inspiration to life I 
owe to the city of Lowell, its institutions and its influences, 
and I rejoice that this occasion affords me an opportunity of 
offering humbly and reverently a tribute of earnest gratitude 
to the city of my affections, my memories, and my hopes. As 
I have said, the duty I am to perform is an honorable one ; it 
is to me something more, — it is a duty welcome, agreeable, 
and full of interest, because it requires me to review — curso- 
rily, it is true — a cycle of municipal history marked by a 



106 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

development and a prosperity little short of marvellous. A 
wise physician, who was still in the freshness of manhood, but 
who had learned how uncertain human life was and what 
perils and vicissitudes it must encounter and through what 
wonderful experiences it must pass every moment, stated his 
age in these words: 'For my life, it is a miracle of thirty 
years.' How much greater a miracle we are called upon to 
contemplate to-day, — a half-century of the life of a great 
community, comprehending thousands and tens of thousands 
of individual lives with all their countless experiences ! And 
at the outset, how strange and mysterious seems the transition 
by which in little more than fifty years a rude Indian fishing- 
village, maintaining a precarious existence by the scanty means 
possessed by a barbarous people, has given place to a com- 
munity considerable in numbers, progressive, thriving, and 
intelligent, controlled by morality, inspired by religion, and 
rejoicing in all the 'glorious gains' of learning and art! The 
wigwam of the savage, the type of one epoch, has vanished ; 
the type of another epoch rises before us in all the beauty of 
proportion, combining strength, symmetry, and airy grace, — 
the great Merrimac chimney, illustrating no bloody contest, 
no freak of art, but, as it towers above and yet aids constantly 
the toiling city at its base, proclaiming by day and night, to 
the morning and the evening, a truth charged with more of 
blessing to humanity, to you and to me, than the Tower of Pisa 
or the Column of Trajan. And what mighty force or what 
gracious power brought about this wonderful change ? It was 
industry, yes, industry, throned at the confluence of our shining 
rivers, that, with Christ-like touch, transmuted the water of 
barbaric life into the wine of civilization and progress. 

"And the community whose history we are contemplating 
was one of no ordinary character, and at the beginning it 
entered upon a daring experiment. The building of the first 
factory in Lowell was an event of more than local importance. 
That event was a revelation to America, a revelation to the 
world. It was a declaration of industrial independence scarcely 
less momentous in its results than the declaration of political 
independence in 1776. I know that the preliminary draft of 
this declaration was made at Waltham, but it was here in 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 107 

Lowell that the principles of the declaration were adopted, 
put in action, and published to the world. And in the glim- 
mering dawn of Lowell's history could be seen the promise of 
a prosperity which would soon diffuse its warmth and radiance 
over the whole country ; in the founding of Lowell was 
involved the founding of many other manufacturing communi- 
ties based upon the intelligent and philosophic plan adopted 
here, and even in our earliest day it needed no prophet's eye 
to look into the future and to see the airy circlet jewelled with 
prosperous cities which would soon crown the stern forehead 
of New England. 

"As we look at the great fact which we call Lowell and 
mark the influences radiating from it, the results, direct and 
indirect, of its establishment, we are impelled to trace back 
the stream of events to its source, to analyze this progress and 
prosperity and discover its original elements, to find the far- 
away solitary springs of thought and action, the results of 
which are spread before us now. I am told that among all 
the treasures of art and beauty in Florence, the works of 
sculptor and painter, the marvels of palace and church, the 
images of statesman, captain, and saint, there is one grand 
figure in the sacristy of San Lorenzo which more than all else 
awes and impresses the beholder. It is the work of Michael 
Angelo, and perpetuates not so much the life or memory of 
any mortal man as the ideal character born of the kingly 
genius of the sculptor. It is known as " The Thinker," and 
by its attitude and expression seems to be the material repre- 
sentation of profound repose, but in that profound repose we 
know there glows the undying flame of thought ; we know and 
feel that, as from the quiet depths of the lake the sword of 
Arthur suddenly flashed, so from the quiet depths of this 
repose action may at any moment flash to smite or to deliver 
the world. It is to this silent figure that the reflective mind 
refers all the greatness, all the power, and all the achievements 
of Florence. You remember that some years ago the philoso- 
pher Buckle startled the world by declaring that the number 
of marriages was regulated, not by affection, not by sentiment, 
but by the price of flour ; and a long array of statistics seemed 
to prove the truth of the assertion. But it must be remem- 



108 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENEALGE. 

bered, on the other hand, that nothing happens in the world 
of thought which does not, sooner or later, affect the price of 
flour; that is to say, a new reaping-machine, a new song, a 
new political theory, are forces which soon make themselves 
felt in the ordinary every-day life of every one of us. And so, 
for the beginning of Lowell, for the original creative force, we 
must look to the solitary chamber of the thinker, wherein we 
see him seated in the very attitude of the sculptor's thinker, 
absorbed in studying the complicated machinery of the power- 
loom, and the comfort and development of the more complicated 
machinery of humanity. 

" If it was wise to stock a factory with the best inanimate 
machinery, Francis Cabot Lowell thought it wise to obtain the 
best human machinery too. The welfare of the operative, 
mental, moral, and physical, was as important in any wise 
man's scheme of a factory as the ten thousand horse-power of 
the river. The factory system as then established in this country 
and in England was execrable. Tliis was twenty years before 
Shaftesbury had led public opinion in England to the coal-pit 
and the factory, and showed how stunted and deformed, how 
feeble and hopeless, how ignorant and depraved, men, women, 
and children had become under the cruel system followed by 
selfish employers. The factory system was looked on as 
accursed ; and if the daughters of New England were to run 
the looms in the new enterprise, a very different system must 
be adopted. And so the great plan was formulated ; the neat, 
well-kept boarding-house, with pleasant, homelike habits and 
restrictions, was established ; the church, the library, and the 
lecture-room followed ; and religion, culture, and refinement 
lent their sweet influences to the life of toil. A new doctrine 
was proclaimed, — the welfare of the employed was a neces- 
sary factor to the success of the employer, just as the welfare 
of the employer was necessary to the success of the employed. 
They were one in interest, one in the loss and in the gain, one 
in prosperity and in adversity. Milton tells us of a music so 
divine that it 'would create a soul under the ribs of death.' 
Lowell discovered and applied a principle that created a soul 
under the ribs of political economy. 

" The life of this man counted by years was short ; by 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 109 

results, an eternity. His foot never trod the streets of our 
city, yet the men whose hearts caught fire from his thought 
decided that the Manchester of America should be his monu- 
ment. But it is not so much a monument to the illustrious 
dead as it is the active and living creation of the living 
thought which warmed the soul of the founder. His life, I 
say, might seem to reach to eternity ; for from that seemingly 
brief life, as from the fabled statue of Memnon, every sun that 
rises evokes a melody which cheers and lightens the daily 
toil of thousands. 

"But the glowing thought was yet to be taken and beaten 
and fashioned into action, and there were apt, skilful, and 
heroic workers ready for this important task. Here comes 
into play the mighty and indefatigable force of Patrick Tracy 
Jackson, a man who seems to have had infinite resources, 
indomitable courage, and exhaustless patience ; whose genius, 
restless and tireless, never hesitated and never allowed itself 
to be baffled ; a man great indeed for prosperity, but in adver- 
sity rising to colossal proportions. His powerful and original 
mind has stamped itself indelibly upon the economy of our 
industrial life. Not content with the herculean task of build- 
ing this city of ours, he surveyed and controlled the building 
of others. His eagle eye looked across the Atlantic, kept 
keen watch on the experiment of George Stephenson ; and 
no sooner had the success of the railroad between Manchester 
and Liverpool been assured than Jackson had a charter in 
his hand and was at work building the railroad from Lowell 
to Boston. 

"Close behind Jackson appears another figure, — the com- 
manding figure of Kirk Boott, — the incarnation of executive 
ability. As this man dashes through the early history of 
Lowell, there is a rush as of charging squadrons, the clank of 
sabre, the jingle of spurs, and over all the tumult rings the 
sharp word of command, ' Forward ! ' Lowell heard the word 
and obeyed, and that glorious command has been ringing in our 
ears ever since this great captain of industry uttered it to his 
peaceful battalions. I trust the command has been obeyed 
even in this last half-century. 

" Lowell, Jackson, Boott, — these are the colossal figures of 



110 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

our history belonging to our heroic age, as Theseus, Hercules, 
and Jason belonged to the heroic age of Greece. 

" And what a remarkable group of workers those were who 
first stood by the looms of Lowell ! Never before in the his- 
tory of mankind was such dignity, such grace, given to labor. 
True manhood and true womanhood then and there accepted, 
not merely with resignation, but with courage, cheerfulness, 
and hope, the burden and the destiny of the human race. 
These true men and true women have passed away; a new 
order of things has been established ; but the glory which their 
lives gave to the morning of Lowell will, through every 
change, through doubt and adversity, through darkness and 
fear, still console and encourage their descendants and suc- 
cessors to the ' last syllable of recorded time.' 

" With such thinkers, with such controlling minds, and with 
such workers, it is not surprising that marvellous results were 
accomplished. Has the quality of the work been kept up to 
the standard ? Let us see. We are to deal especially with 
the half-century beginning in 1836 and ending at the moment 
of time when you are gathered together here to examine the 
record. There can be no question that even in that space of 
time there has been a great increase in material prosperity. 
The development has been thorough, harmonious, healthy, and 
symmetrical. When Industry erected a factory, Eeligion and 
Education planted a school-house and a church. Let us glance 
at a few figures. There is a beauty even in figures, an sesthetic 
aspect to statistics, as there is to everything else under the 
sun. When, on the thirtieth day of March, 1836, Mr. Justice 
Eockwell, the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Eepre- 
sentatives — spared to us now to grace this commemoration 
with the dignity of his years and the long record of an honor- 
able and useful life, — subscribed his name to the legislative 
act which gave us municipal life, there were in the limits of 
the new city 17,633 people; to-day, in a period of great busi- 
ness depression, we have in our city, at the lowest estimate, 
65,000 souls. The taxable property of Lowell in 1836 was 
$5,248,723; it is now $51,308,335. Then 40,000,000 yards 
of cloth were made here annually ; now there are upwards of 
250,000,000 yards. There are 4,776 owners of taxable real 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. Ill 

estate, so that about one to fourteen, including men, women, 
and children, — and we must not forget that we have 11,000 
school children, — is the ratio of distribution of real estate in our 
city. It is true that sixty-five corporations are among these 
holders of real estate, but it is also true that every stock- 
holder in a corporation may, in a certain sense, be considered 
a proprietor of real estate. In our savings-banks we have 
$12,311,000, owned by 36,520 depositors; an average of $340 
to each depositor. 

"We have upwards of 50,000 volumes, good, bad, and in- 
different, in our libraries ; and as for our societies organized 
to promote learning, charity, art, social culture and enjoy- 
ment, and every good thing under the sun, their name is 
Legion. 

" Now, when Lowell began, the population may be described 
as homogeneous, — they belonged to one race, with the same 
mode of living, the same habits of thought, the same religion, 
and the same patriotic past and future. This state of things, 
it is perhaps unnecessary to say, has been changed. Exiles 
from many lands have sought here a larger liberty, and a wider 
opportunity for securing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- 
ness. Now, as my illustrious predecessor, who stood here ten 
years ago, pointed out, there were great fears about the flood 
of immigration which poured in upon Lowell; those fears 
have proved groundless. You have seen that wonderful work 
of engineering, that cyclopean wall of Francis, — separating 
the river and the canal, which most of us know familiarly as 
the ' Canal Walk,' — a curve of beauty and strength, repressing 
on one side the wild torrents of the Merrimac and on the 
other guarding and distributing, as industry requires, the 
orderly, placid, and effective elements of strength drawn from 
the same rushing river. In the same way the wise policy of 
the makers of Lowell, not discouraging but controlling the 
tide of immigration, drew from it the elements of strength, 
order, and progress, and made those elements a part of the 
people, and gave to that part a share of the common prosperity. 

" Of course our population became cosmopolitan ; it repre- 
sented many races, — every part of the British Isles, of Cana- 
dian France, and the British Provinces, unified Germany, free 



112 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Sweden, and free Italy, and even more remote countries, — all 
were and are represented among our people. 

"There were gloomy prophets who foresaw the extinction 
of the ancient and original type. The New England race was 
to die out or be lost sight of in the whelming tide of new- 
comers. To what a thin line had it been reduced already I 
Yes ; but remember that it was the thin line of an unconquer- 
able army, — which might narrow but could never recoil, — 
of which history must write, ' It never dies and it never 
surrenders ! ' Look through two centuries and a half and 
observe the little band appointed to reclaim a continent and 
give new beauty to freedom. Foremost is Miles Standish, the 
standard-bearer of an indomitable race, planted upon the rock 
of Plymouth and facing with unquailing eye the wilderness, 
the storm, and the future. There is the standard ! The count- 
less voices of those who have found protection, liberty, and 
justice under its folds assure us that there is no blemish, no 
stain, upon the standard yet. And I say to all, to those born 
beneath it and to those who have come from afar to seek its 
shelter. There is the standard ! Make it more glorious if you 
can, but never suffer it by any deed or word or thouglit of yours 
to be tarnished. Bring to the land where it flies the best your 
nationality has. To one, I say, Give us a ray from the wis- 
dom of Grattan, a flash from the patriotic fire of Emmet. To 
another, Come to us glowing with the devotion of La Salle, speak 
to us as if you had communed with the soul of Montcalm. 
Let the spirit of Garibaldi inspire your every action. Let your 
loyalty and honor be as stainless as the sword of the great 
Marquis, your purpose high as the heart of Hampden ; and if 
you loiter, the trumpet voice of Gustavus shall impel you to 
the front. In this way these different elements can be har- 
moniously blended with the ancient and abiding type to form 
a splendid composite character made up of every nation's 
best. 

" But new Lowell, as we term it, has actually been put to 
the test, with a result which would gladden the soul of Cap- 
tain Standish. 

"Midway in our half-century, almost precisely twenty-five 
years ago, a great national crisis arose. Men's minds were at 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 113 

white heat. The irrepressible conflict was to be settled by- 
wager of battle. North and South had been moving on to 
the decisive point. Then, for a moment, suspense fell upon 
the country. There was a lull, a stillness, that was not peace. 
The people of Lowell pursued their quiet industry apparently 
as usual, the bells rang, the looms hummed, and the rush of 
Pawtucket over its rocky bed was heard in the quiet night. 
But a deep anxiety prevailed in Lowell, as everywhere else ; 
some great event seemed to be brooding in the air. And 
Lowell must be on the alert ; she had a reputation to make. 
Concord and Lexington might dream in the shadow of their 
monuments, and if any ominous sound was heard, they might 
fancy it was but the midnight march of Pitcairn echoing 
through their dreams. But the quick ear of Lowell at length 
caught a sound faint and far off, but appalling. Above the 
sound of bell and loom and the rush of Pawtucket was heard 
the footstep of Eebellion! — Eebellion, rising to stupendous 
proportions — vast and dark and terrible, as Milton's fiend. 
In this very hall where you are gathered now, the men of 
Lowell assembled to bid farewell to kindred and friends before 
rushing into the wild and bloody tumult which awaited them. 
That hurried march of theirs proved that the loyal men of 
America were ready for the conflict; and when the sun set 
that day on Baltimore, the drum-beats of the gathering North 
were heard on every side. From Baltimore to Appomattox 
the honor of Lowell was upheld, not only by the great leader, 
whose daring and resolute genius first declared to a hesitating 
nation the inflexible principles on which alone the War of 
the Ptcbellion could be brought to a successful issue, and who 
convinced the world that, whatever else it might mean, the 
name of Butler never stood for half-way measures or a dubious 
policy, — not only by him, I say, but by thousands of brave 
and true men who, following the colors of one regiment or 
another, represented Lowell in almost every conflict from 
Gettysburg to the Gulf; and old Lowell and new Lowell 
clasped hands in the hour of national peril. 

" I do not pretend to present here any detailed history of 
Lowell, to narrate events in their order, or to give biographical 
sketches of men prominent in our municipal life. This work 

8 



114 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

was done so fully and so clearly by the distinguished man who 
stood ten years ago where I stand now, that I could only fol- 
low in his footsteps, as to a great extent I must do now, with- 
out the advantage of that personal knowledge which gave 
authority and character to his testimony. It only remains 
for me to comment on a few of the great events of our history, 
to note as far as possible the permanent features and the chief 
characteristics of our community. 

" We have had a strong progressive element, eager-eyed, 
fresh-hearted, watching for a new idea as men watch for the 
sunrise, making progress themselves, and profiting by the prog- 
ress of others, ever among the foremost who delight in 

* the marcli of mind, 
In the steamship, in the railway, in the thoughts that shake manldnd.' 

"One bold spirit projected and built a railroad; another 
constructed a canal, seized in his strong grasp a careless, idle 
river, and made it the servant of industry ; and another, after 
converting a barren hillside into a garden blossoming with 
graceful households, with one hand assisted in planting the city 
of Lawrence, with the other helped to subdue and draw down 
for our service the free waters of Winnipiseogee. And there 
were a host of others who in every line of human action were 
always to be found in the advance column ; and the names of 
Nesmith, Livingston, and Wliipple were written on the later 
era of Lowell, as the names of Lowell, Jackson, and Boott upon 
the former era. 

" And we have had, too, a notable conservative element here, 
— cautious, sagacious men, who loved the past and eyed the 
future with suspicion, looking upon all change as dangerous. 
This element is not without value to a community. It regu- 
lates, though it cannot prevent, progress. The system of 
public schools, the construction of sewers, the introduction of 
city water, the fire-alarm telegraph, military drill in the High 
School, all provoked the violent opposition of this element. 
It would provoke a smile if I should read to you now the 
arguments against some of these beneficial measures. The 
introduction of city water, it was said, was simply arranging 
for a deluge before we had built an ark ; as for the fire-alarm 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 115 

telegraph, it was regarded simply as an infernal machine 
which might lay the city in ruin and ashes at any moment. 
A witty friend of mine has a list of the remonstrants against 
these various improvements ; but I doubt whether, if I should 
read over the names, I should contribute to the harmony of 
this occasion. But it is so with all improvements, and an 
improvement which does not provoke opposition cannot be of 
much value. Even wise men must live and learn. Eemember 
the great English statesman who declared that he would swal- 
low the boiler of the first steamship that crossed the Atlantic ! 
I need not say the promise yet remains imfulfilled. But let 
us have charity for those who were slow to perceive merit in 
the great projects I have named. 

" Many shining names are written in the necrology of Lowell 
for the past few years, — names that stood for honest worth, 
for benevolence, for lasting services to their fellow-men, — 
names that gave lustre and character to our various departments 
of business, — to the mill, the bank, the school, — and that 
seemed in some cases to add even sanctity to the Church. 
Your own hearts must fill the catalogue. But what a glorious 
company I might call around me of those who shed the sun- 
light of their cheerful and worthy lives upon our civic history, 
— the reverend men of God, the scholars, the jurists, the wits, 
the thinkers, and the workers ! 

" It was in our forum that Butler and Sweetser and Abbott 
awoke the admiration and apprehension of Choate ; Bonney and 
Eichardson alone are left with us to attest the reality of what 
seems a legendary age. It was from the pulpits of Lowell that 
Edson, Miles, Blanchard, and Miner preached. Banks, the 
bobbin-boy, began here a public career, useful and splendid, 
seldom vouchsafed to men. The man destined to wake the 
American people to the thought of liberty for others as well 
as for themselves, Wendell Phillips, a careless law student, 
dwelt among us once, playing the pranks with which even 
great men beguile their youth, — now satirizing society, and 
now climbing Dracut heights to watch the lighting of the 
mills, describing the resplendent spectacle in language more 
resplendent still. The learning and influence of John P. Eob- 
inson made him the worthy mark of the first of living satirists, 



116 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

the kinsman of our founder, James Kussell Lowell, who ought 
to stand where I stand to-day, making our history shine in 
the light of his genius. 

" And what wits and humorists, what minstrels and story- 
tellers, have filled our half-century with wisdom, hope, and 
recreation under the guise of frolic and humor ! The rubicund 
face of Perez Fuller rises before us now ; ' Governor ' Brownell, 
the stateliest of wits, comes with the lofty port of the ' buried 
majesty of Denmark ; ' Warland, Schouler, Ball, and Goodwin 
join the circle, and the voice of McEvoy rings above the 
chimes at midnight ; Lucy Larcom and Mary Eastman have 
been there with poem and speech : but devotees of propriety left 
at ten o'clock, the good old regulation hour. 

" And there was always a certain gravity, a peculiar sombre- 
ness, in the humor and wit of Lowell. One or two examples 
will suffice. In the first contest for the mayoralty, feeling 
ran high ; a grand type of man must be chosen to set the 
standard for all time (and some of us will stoutly maintain 
that the standard has never been lowered). Bartlett was 
elected, and a banquet was given to celebrate the victory. 
Hilarity rose to a great height, the viands were superb, and the 
' foaming grape of eastern France' lent its sparkle to the hour. 
A pious, steady-going citizen who among other wares occa- 
sionally dealt in pictures and Bibles, had participated in the 
festivity. When the collector, a wag, called for the assess- 
ment, our worthy friend had grave scruples about paying money 
for such a cause. But a happy thought occurred to the col- 
lector, — ' Pay your share in Bibles ! ' And although history 
is silent, malice declares that the compromise was effected. 

" At a meeting called to take action as to a school system, 
the imperious Kirk Boott was opposed to the measure, and 
declared that it was folly to incur any expense in its behalf. 
Lowell was but an experiment, and a traveller visiting the 
place in a few years might find only a heap of ruins. Theo- 
dore Edson replied, that if the traveller examining those ruins 
found among them no trace of a school-house, he would have 
no difficulty in assigning the cause of the downfall of Lowell. 
There is logic and wit enough in that retort to have made the 
reputation of an English prime minister I 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 117 

" Now, I do not pretend to say that this community of ours 
is perfect. I am not here to flatter ; it is not perfect. It is 
deficient in many respects; it lacks in public spirit. The 
close, fierce struggle for existence has not been so favorable as 
might be to broad and liberal projects in the interests of edu- 
cation, charity, philanthropy. Public benefactions have been 
comparatively few and small. All honor to those who fill 
that narrow circle of our benefactors in which Tyler and 
Thomas Nesmith are most prominent! But we have no 
library, hospital, art gallery, or academy to signalize the wise 
liberality of any living man or to commemorate the patient 
forethought of the dead. We have, it is true, a prospective 
park, planned with judgment and persistence by two de- 
voted women, who wished the memory of their father to be 
linked forever with the comfort and enjoyment of a toiling 
people. 

" Again, the community lacks in local pride and ambition. 
Our independent local life needs to be developed. This 
responsibility falls upon all of us, — upon the tradesman, the 
clerk, the mechanic, the journalist, the professions. Com- 
pared with other places, is our work in every line above or 
below the standard ? Can we stand up, — mechanic, trader, 
teacher, lawyer, — and challenge the world to a comparison? 
Is there as much purity among our politicians, as much zeal 
and intelligence among our clergy, as in other places ? I fer- 
vently trust so. As the clock strikes the closing hour of our 
first half -century, these questions wait for an answer. I know 
that the future upon which we are about to enter is dark and 
lowering. I do not pretend to ignore or underrate the perils 
gathering round us. I see the social and economic forces 
thrown into confusion, arraying themselves under this or that 
banner, and shouting strange war-cries ; but I have faith to 
believe that courage, patience, and intelligence will soon evolve 
order out of this chaos ; that the rights of man and the rights 
of property will still be safe under the standard of Miles 
Standish ; and that under the providence of Almighty God, this 
city of ours, founded upon the noble thought of Francis Cabot 
Lowell, will stand against every storm, the example and the 
admiration of all coming time. " 



118 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

In August, 1888, at the dedication of the Unitarian Head- 
quarters at The Weirs, Greenhalge delivered the principal 
address as follows : — 

" This voice of summer is surely the voice of God, calling, as 
it does, from the North and the South, the East and the West, 
these various religious organizations to assemble here, and, 
under the open sky, to commune for a few short hours with 
the Maker of heaven and earth, the Father of us all. 

"We often read of grand military demonstrations, of impos- 
ing naval pageants, where man's destructive forces are gathered 
together to show what carnage and havoc they could work, if 
Hell gave the word. Here we have a demonstration of a dif- 
ferent kind ; here we see man's noblest forces arrayed to study 
and contrive the best way to elevate, ennoble, and to save man- 
kind, when Heaven gives the word. And as we glance along 
the shining lines marshalled here to-day, should we not be 
justified if we felt a thrill of pride to find that this organization 
of ours was in the van, and was indeed ' the Hesperus that 
led the starry host ' ? Ought we not to be the pioneers, the 
makers of roads and bridges, for the great army moving along 
the pathway of spiritual thought ? Should we not hasten for- 
ward to occupy every height, to storm every advanced post of 
the enemy, so as to make the painful steps of our brethren 
easier, safer, and clearer ? This post is, I know, one of danger, 
but one of glory ; of struggle, but of triumph ; of labor, but of 
rest. Let us take it, and deserve it, if we can. 

" This array of intelligent faces, kindling with the warmth of 
the great thoughts suggested by this hour, convinces me that 
the Unitarian faith is a prosperous and growing fact. Wher- 
ever we look, we observe signs of prosperity, — we are, in fact, 
so prosperous that there is danger of our indulging in luxuries. 
Now, I suppose that as nobody realizes that he owns a house 
until he puts a mortgage on it, no church realizes its prosperity 
until it has a schism. I do not believe, however, that a schism 
is ever, in any sense, a witticism. If this denomination can 
be said to have factions within it at all, I should say there 
are two leading factions, and they are both small. One of 
these believes that we don't believe enough ; the other believes 
that we believe too much. There is a good deal of make-be- 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 119 

lieve, you see, on the one hand ; and on the other hand, the cham- 
pions of unbelief have got a creed of what they don't believe 
longer than any the world ever saw, composed not of thirty- 
nine articles, but thirty-nine hundred, and the list is increasing 
every day, 

" There is, my friends, a beautiful and peculiar propriety in 
meeting here by these still waters and green pastures, under 
the shadow of these great hills, to confer together on the high 
purposes I have referred to, — purposes as clear as these spark- 
ling waters, as heaven-reaching as the hills ; a peculiar pro- 
priety, I say, because we must remember that Jesus of Nazareth 
made the blue waters of Gennesaret his pulpit ; and the glory 
of nature, shining as to-day, the song of the birds of the air, 
the fragrance of the flowers of the field, the changing loveli- 
ness of sky and hill and lake, all lent their grace and grandeur 
to the earliest declarations of Christian truth. And if the ears 
of living men were deaf to that truth, the mountains heard it 
and the sea. And if the lips of living men are not ready to 
declare that truth here to-day, I doubt not that Chocorua and 
Winnipiseogee will repeat to us the words of life spoken to 
Lebanon and Jordan. Nature is an open book in which he 
who will may read the word of the Lord. 

" Many of you, doubtless, have seen the great cathedrals of 
the Old World. You have looked on the multitudinous pin- 
nacles of Milan, on the grand front of St. Peter's, — you have 
stood and observed Strasburg and Cologne ' kneeling in their 
robes of stone,' great images of devotion ; but tell me if the 
hand of man ever reared a cathedral as grand as this in which 
we now meet ? 

" We have here a great lesson, a great truth, one of the dis- 
tinctive truths of the Unitarian faith, — the simplicity of the 
truth, and the necessity of using simplicity in worship, in creed, 
and in all things spiritual. One of the objections urged against 
us is that we lack beautiful ceremonies, impressive rites and 
forms ; and it has been suggested that we run out and borrow 
of our spiritual neighbors a candlestick here, a rubric there, a 
rite or ceremony elsewhere, or an article of religion ; and, as 
they have thirty-nine articles, some of which are not in active 
daily use, we could easily get what we wanted, and then we 



120 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

could furnish our house in the latest and most approved fashion. 
I say no. You cannot put any real life into your church 
by adding the excrescences of others ; you cannot widen or 
strengthen its foundations by adding a spire here or a pinnacle 
there. In what guise do you want religion to come ? Shall 

she 

* like gorgeous tragedy, 
With sceptred pall come sweeping by ? ' 

or do you prefer that other picture of the great Puritan poet, — 
shall rehgion appear 

' devout and pure, 
Sober, steadfast, and demure, 
Her looks commercing with the skies. 
Her rapt soul sitting in her eyes ' ? 

"Some people seem to prefer religion caparisoned and ap- 
pointed, like the fine lady of Banbury Cross, who 

• With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, 
Carries fine music wherever she goes.' 

" Which will you choose, — the feverish and fretful magnifi- 
cence of the Turkish mosque or the simple and serene majesty 
of the Parthenon ? Will you take the road to Banbury Cross 
or the road to Damascus ? 

" But they tell us we have no antiquity, no traditions ; we 
are not archaeological ; we are very modern, very young ; we 
feel like young Copperfield in presence of the old waiter who 
seemed to reproach him constantly with his excessive youth. 
Now, I say, this notion is entirely false. We draw our inspira- 
tion, our life, from the very fountain-head ; we go back to the 
very beginning. Our spiritual neighbors invite us to step 
down the ' corridor of time,' and go and see the ancient sources 
of their wisdom and power. Well, we accept the invitation. 
Our friends start off at a weary pace, and we follow. By and 
by they pause. They stop at Strasburg, at St. Peter's; they 
repeat the words of Augustine, of Paul, — we cannot get them 
beyond the second or the third century. We go forward still ; 
we do not pause until we have passed these other shrines and 
sacred places, until we have come to the very shores of Galilee ; 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 121 

until we listen to the words of that wondrous Son of man 
and of God, whose voice for nineteen centuries has been the 
harmony of the universe ; the light of whose countenance is 
the civilization of the kingdoms of the earth to-day, the refuge 
and the hope of humanity forever. And we mean to keep the 
faith, not covered by the dust of ages, not tricked out by 
fashion or folly beyond recognition, not as the result of in- 
correct transmission and ignorant interpretation ; but the 
faith in all its original simplicity, in all its original beauty 
and majesty. We mean to keep that faith as it was set forth 
when the ' goodly fellowship of the prophets ' made the ages 
ring with their foretellings of it, as it was when ' the glorious 
company of the apostles ' welcomed it with heart and soul, as 
it was when ' the noble army of martyrs ' died for it to live for- 
evermore. Keep the faith ' as it was in the beginning, is now, 
and ever shall be.' " 

The following speech was delivered by Greenhalge at the 
celebration of the one hundred and fifteenth anniversary of 
the battle of Lexington, before the Sons of the American 
Eevolution : — 

" Ladies and Gentlemen, — When I heard the President 
mention my name in a somewhat irregular fashion, — I forget 
what he called it, — I consoled myself with the reflection that 
' A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,' and also by 
the familiar adage that you may call me by any name, provided 
you do not call me late to dinner. 

" I regret, however, that under whatever name we are called 
to-day you and I will be late to dinner. I do not like to stand 
between a hungry audience and the meal for which they are so 
well prepared. It is generally my luck to lead the retreat, to 
be the Marshal Ney of an occasion like this. I am accustomed 
to that sort of disaster. 

" One or two things said by General Porter excited my ad- 
miration. I respect the intelligent patriotism of that gallant 
son of New Hampshire who offered up so many hogsheads of 
rum in the cause of freedom. We can appreciate that sort of 
sacrifice. I am a little inclined to view with suspicion the 
watchword which was given by that gallant son of New Hamp- 



122 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

shire who said, ' Meet me at Medford.' That remark, permit 
me to say, seems to be very much in the same spirit — or 
after the same spirit. There was a good deal of rum con- 
sumed in the Kevolution upon one side and the other, and 
I am very glad if it rendered any service. It does not often 
render any. 

" I am glad, my friends, to be permitted to stand in this place 
to-day, and I have hastened hither because I had a desire that 
before this day should fade into the past, I might at least have 
the opportunity of paying my humble but earnest and fervent 
tribute to those men of Middlesex who ' fired the shot heard 
round the world ; ' and, while I must say with my friend Gen- 
eral Swift, and with the many other friends perhaps present 
here to-day, that, under the conditions of your Society, I cannot 
be enrolled as a member, still I have a right to stand here and 
to speak to you, because no living man has been permitted to 
share more generously in the blessings springing like flowers 
from the bloody dews which moistened the fields of Concord 
and this village green of Lexington, a century and more ago. 
And the large-minded character of those men is shown in this, 
that their last will and testament was that even the stranger 
and the exile might be co-heirs with their own flesh and 
blood, their own lineal descendants, and true heirs of that 
priceless heritage. 

" My friends, you heard those words, which always seem 
to be so powerful, spoken by my friend Judge Deming, — 
Marathon and Thermopylse. There are certain words in history 
— Leuctra, Marathon, Thermopylse — which always fall upon 
the ears of men like music. It is not the music of the simple 
euphony, of a mere silvery ode to courage ; it is a music which 
always rises from a grand achievement, filling the world age 
after age with sounds that echo now. Yes, and we remember 
some other words which may parallel in their music the words 
of the ancient history, — Concord, Acton, Lexington, are in- 
vested with the same divine music for the ears of all man- 
kind. 

" You remember the impassioned exclamation, the despair- 
ing prayer of that poet and freeman who died at Missolonghi 
to make Greece free ; you remember how, looking at the 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 123 

descendants of Miltiades and Pericles, he cried, ' Of the three 
hundred, give me three to make a new Thermopylae ! ' There 
was no response. Yet, my friends, here, within sight of us now, 
the freemen of Middlesex made a new Thermopylae without 
waking a single Spartan from his stony sleep. 

" Give us, in the sweet spirit of this Americanism which 
you have combined to keep alive upon the altar, — give us 
illustrations not two thousand years old, when we have them 
here at our own doors, in our own houses, and on our own 
village green. Let us begin with consecrating and preserving 
the memorials of the heroic deeds which have been done most 
recently, and have been done with most effect for you and 
yours, your children and yourselves. 

" I was struck most forcibly by the train of thought fol- 
lowed by my friend from Connecticut when he mentioned 
Eunnymede and Bunker Hill ; and, if I may be permitted, I 
desire to show briefly that there is an intimate and indis- 
soluble connection between these memorable places. There 
was a vast meaning in the beacon fire kindled on the plain of 
Eunnymede, and the world and mankind everywhere under- 
stood that meaning ; and then another beacon fire was kindled 
a few centuries later on Marston Moor, and that beacon fire had 
a tremendous meaning ; and then again, while the world was 
wondering and trying to understand the significance of Eunny- 
mede and Marston Moor, there was an answering beacon fire 
blazing on Bunker Hill, with a meaning which even the dark- 
ness of tyranny comprehended. And when that shot of Mid- 
dlesex was fired, it announced a most important departure; 
it announced that another great step had been taken, and 
that another mighty epoch in the history of English freedom 
had begun, and the most advanced condition of freedom in 
the world. There are these sequences, there are these con- 
nections ; the same spirit is there, and the world sees the 
progress that has been made. Why, those shots fired at 
Lexington are reverberating now in Brazil, and ringing even 
to dark Siberia ; and while men have hearts and a desire for 
freedom, which is innate and ineradicable from the minds of 
men, those echoes will always fall upon the ears of men 
everywhere. 



124 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

"Sons of the American Eevolution, do you pine for the 
brave old days ? Do you sigh for opportunities such as your 
fathers had? Do you not find to-day room and opportunity 
for heroic action ? Ah ! there is a call for heroic souls to-day, 
if there ever was in the history of the world. In our complex 
life, with all the difficulties of thought, with all the new 
order of things, with the changed conditions which have taken 
the place of the old order, there is a call for men like Barrett 
and Buttrick and Davis. You cannot prove yourselves to 
be the lineal descendants of those men without showing deeds 
worthy of them. Our good mothers taught us what seemed 
an easy lesson : Always do right, always shun evil. But there 
comes in the great trouble of our lives to-day. If our good 
mothers had told us what was right and what was wrong, 
we should see fewer failures and have fewer heart-aches than 
we have to-day; we should have been furnished with that 
spear which, being pointed, at once detected the false and 
knew the true. We have not that to-day. That was an 
angel's weapon. But we can to-day stand in the spirit of 
the men who made this green a Thermopylae one hundred 
and fourteen years ago. It would be so pleasant if, as in an 
opera, the good man was always the tenor, and the villain was 
always the basso ; but we cannot have that convenient arrange- 
ment in our hurried and troubled life ; yet there is as much 
call for heroic action in determining what is right as in going 
forth to do what is right. 

" Ah, Mr. President and friends, would it not be convenient 
if some Paul Revere would come galloping through the night 
knocking at our doors and saying with a voice in which you 
must put trust, ' The enemy are there ; go north, south, east, 
and west, and meet him ! ' But no such dictation comes to 
us. We fight to-day, not with battalions, but with opinions ; 
and any opinion that goes forth from the brain or heart of 
man and hopes to succeed must be clad in proof armor, with 
sword and buckler and shield. It is for you to prove by 
action that you are the same flesh and blood of those men who 
worked for the foundation of this republic. And then, with 
such institutions as yours grasping the standard and standing 
close by you ready to support in case of need, the iron ranks 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 125 

and the bronzed faces of the Grand Army of the Eepublic and 
kindred organizations, I say that, come what may of weal or 
woe, of enemy or corruption, battle or pestilence, if you de- 
mean yourselves in the spirit of Lexington and Concord and 
Boston, I say then we may be sure that the power and glory 
of the United States of America will not be dimmed or les- 
sened, and no true brave heart will ever have occasion to 
despair of the republic. 

Nov. 6, 1890, before the Unitarian Club of Lowell, Green- 
halge spoke upon the subject of Practical Christianity. In a 
sentence of his speech he said : " We have need for no more 
religion than we can use in our daily life. I object to no creed 
which lifts men up from the mud and mire ; for it is not what 
you believe that helps, but what you carry into action." There 
is a whole sermon in this fragment. 

I have given so many of his addresses entire because they 
should be preserved ; enough is lost as it is. The glory of the 
orator is to a great extent ephemeral ; what remains in printed 
books is but the pale reflection of the living presence of the 
orator, the cold shadow of the words that sprang from his lips 
like flame. The energy is gone that made them live. If the 
orator's efforts are to survive, they must live as literature, be 
judged by the severe tests of time. Yet, judged even by the 
standard of literary art, the speeches of Greenhalge are worthy 
of study and admiration. In many cases they were badly re- 
ported, and the report is often the only form in which they 
remain ; but they were so glowing, so full of energy and 
thought and poetry, that the essence of their beauty has been 
preserved. 

We are sometimes inclined to think the orator's career a 
rather ornamental one, — as if it were not a part of the serious 
life-work of the world. Yet, in the case of this one man, 
what a vast body of inspiring material his speeches make ! He 
constantly sought to raise his hearers to a higher level of 
thought and action. His orbit is always among the stars of 
poetry and patriotism and moral and political purity. This 
is indeed " labor that is crowned with laurel and has the wings 
of the eagle. " Much labor that is called practical, and honored 



126 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

as such, instigated by cupidity and selfishness, is " labor which 
is crowned with fire and has the wings of the bat. " 

He was called once in a public print the " frivolous Green- 
halge ; " he was the deeply serious Greenhalge. He has been 
called " sarcastic ; " he was, in fact, appreciative and kind. 
The surface may have been disturbed, but the depths of his 
character were always the same. 

In 1893 he was invited by the city of Boston to deliver the 
oration at the memorial service in honor of General Butler. 
He save an admirable address. The characters of these two 
remarkable men were totally unlike ; yet some of the things 
that Greenhalge said in his oration of General Butler are 
strikingly applicable to himself : — 

" There are some public men who never seem to reach the 
heart of the people. Their services are great, their purpose is 
high, their lives are pure and stately; but the people, while 
recognizing their merit, and feeling a certain moderate, well- 
regulated gratitude, always maintain toward them a cold and 
dispassionate attitude. 

" Then there is another type of public men. You can count 
the numbers of these on your fingers, in any age, in any 
nation. The name of any one of them, uttered in a vast 
assembly, will electrify thousands as the soul of one man, 
and thrill and kindle heart, eye, and lip ; the name is a flash 
of lightning followed — accompanied — by the thunder of 
popular acclaim. There is electric communication between 
this type and the soul of the people. The difference between 
these two types cannot logically be explained ; it is clear only 
to that finer, subtler, that almost divine intuition which we 
attribute to woman. In these matters the logic of men can be 
fathomed and answered ; the logic of women and of nations, 
never. . . . 

" Benjamin Franklin Butler was not born among ancestral 
laurels or luxury; and if a single wreath adorned his 'dream- 
less head ' that winter day as he lay in his coffin, it was all his 
own. He was the son of a widow. Not infrequently poverty 
walked by his side in his early youth, and taught him its 
severe but salutary lessons. No boy in America ever marched 
to do battle with the world with less impedimenta, with less 



tti 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 127 

artificial aids and advantages. But he carried in himself, in 
his own natural forces, supplies sufficient for every exigency 
of life's journey. 

" In these days of form, rule, and routine, when life so often 
runs in a rut, it is good to see a man who lived and moved in 
his own right and not in the right of an ancestor, a family, or 
a class ; whose powers were not limited or confined by environ- 
ment, condition, or precedent, not tied and trammelled and 
labelled, not weighted down by ancestral possessions or an- 
cestral ideas, but a man clothed in the royalty of his own 
individuality. . . . 

" It seems diificult to believe that all this intense, this mar- 
vellous activity could suddenly cease ; that all this rich glow 
of life should be extinguished at a breath ; that so many 
'enterprises of great pith and moment ' should in an instant 
all ' their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action. ' 
Yet, 'after life's fitful fever, he sleeps well,' — he of the sleep- 
less brain, of the inextinguishable fire, of the dauntless spirit, 
of the irresistible and tireless force. " 

In 1887 Greenhalge delivered the closing argument for the 
defence in the case of the Commonwealth versus George F. 
and Mary J. Baker, charged with murder. His argument 
occupied three and one-half hours in its delivery. It was 
afterwards printed by him in pamphlet form, with the title of 
" The Groton Murder Case. " It was a brilliant effort, and 
gained him considerable reputation as a criminal lawyer. The 
closing sentences and a passage touching circumstantial evi- 
dence were as follows : — 

" I say that again and again, in the history of jurispru- 
dence, circumstantial evidence which seemed overwhelming, 
and which did overwhelm the minds of jurors, was found to be 
as rotten and unstable as if a band of perjurers had marched 
before the jury and fired their falsehoods by platoons ; yet 
every fact was truly stated. The veracity, the capacity, were 
there; but the conclusion was wrong, because some great and 
vital fact had been left out of the inquiry. 

" Now I say, gentlemen, in conclusion, for one brief moment 
to you are committed the functions of the Almighty. You 



128 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

hold in your hands the issues of life and death. The only 
possible course lies between these alternatives; it is either 
liberty, and the doors of the jail open, or it is death upon the 
gallows, in a most shameful form. I beg you — and I have no 
doubt you have a full sense of the importance of the duty with 
which you are charged — to make no mistake. The old maxim 
is : 'It were better that ten guilty men should escape than 
one innocent man be convicted. 

The voice of Greenhalge was always lifted in the cause of 
humanity. As an orator, the highest interests of the race 
engaged his constant attention ; he sought to raise the moral 
standards of the community. In this respect he was the equal 
of any of our public speakers ; his aims were as high, his 
tone as elevated. His was the most persistent voice heard in 
New England in our day in the cause of the highest culture, 
morality, and political purity, — the cause of Phillips and 
Sumner and Everett. 

In times of depression he has been heard to say of life, 
" It is all a grim tragedy. " Yet it never was to him a tragedy. 
Our lives may be composed in some measure much as we may 
compose a tragedy or comedy ; it rests with us to mould them 
at our will. 

To the resolute soul of Ceesar life was not a tragedy; to 
the active and ardent spirit in any age it is not a tragedy. 
The serene mind accompanies the active spirit all the world 
over. 

Let us glance at the many speeches of Greenhalge, the 
speeches which are called occasional. Note the variety of 
subjects, all taken from the higher range of thought: — 

Nov. 30, 1887, he lectured on literature before the St. 
Peter's Total Abstinence Society of Lowell. 

January, 1888, on Self -Government, before the Matthews 
Temperance Institute, Lowell. 

On Literature, Nov. 25, 1886, to the students at Amherst. 

On Stonewall Jackson, April, 1886, before the History Club, 
Lowell. 

He preached in Fifth Street Church, December, 1888, on 
the Lessons of the Hour. 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 129 

He spoke in Watertown, January, 1889, on the Dangerous 
Tendencies of the Times, before the Unitarian Club. 

In Lowell, April, 1889, on Ireland's cause. 

In Plymouth, August, 1889, at the Dedication of the 
National Monument. 

In September, to the Spalding Light Cavalry, on Our 
Country. 

October 12, to the Paint and Oil Club, on New England 
Supremacy. 

December 29, before the Pennsylvania Club, on Labor and 
Capital. 

The list might be extended to cover all his life ; for he 
spoke and continued to speak with ever-increasing multiplicity 
of place and topic. His oratory was a lamp which shone 
brightly over a small circle at first, yet gradually shed its 
beams over all Massachusetts. 

In 1886 Greenhalge was engaged as counsel in the Bell 
Telephone cases. I have copied the following brief sentences 
from his argument. They are characteristic : — 

" It is not all demagogy when we speak of monopoly. There 
is such a thing as a monopoly, and it is to prevent a monopoly 
that I think the Legislature is bound to act. " 

" I have always taken this ground, — it is Jeffersonian, 
and to that extent I am a thorough Democrat, — that the 
people in every case where they understand the question are 
infallible. " 

" Gentlemen, there is a principle involved here. The char- 
acter of Massachusetts legislation must be kept clean and pure, 
pointing ever as the needle to the pole to the welfare and com- 
fort of the people. " 

Greenhalge delivered the eulogy at the unveiling of the 
statue of William Lloyd Garrison at Newburyport, Mass. It 
was widely quoted and praised for its eloquence, and is one of 
his best-known orations. He spoke as follows : — 

" Fellow-Citizens of Newburyport, — On the 10th day of 
December (though your town records say the 12th), A. d. 1805, 
William Lloyd Garrison was born in this town of Newbury- 

9 



130 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

port in a frame house still standing on School Street, between 
the First Presbyterian Church, in which Whitefield's remains 
are interred, and the house in which the great preacher died. 
Nearly eighty-eight years afterward a public-spirited citizen 
of Newbury port, Mr. Swasey, commemorates by the statue to 
be unveiled to-day your immortal fellow-townsman. 

" Such a recognition of such a man, in this age of silver 
and gold, of iron and steel, of manufactures and commerce, 
is a fact of more than ordinary significance. It proves that 
liberty and equality are still words of power and meaning, 
that they have not yet become as ' sounding brass or tinkling 
cymbals ; ' it proves that old Newport and young Newbury- 
port have not forgotten the strongest and bravest of the 
thousands of strong and brave men who have sprung from 
her loins. 

" And, further, I may say that Newburyport owes this day's 
reparation to Garrison. In her pride and strength and pros- 
perity, she atones to-day for the injustice done to her own 
son in former days. Not always did Garrison find his native 
town a loving mother. She turned too often a deaf ear to his 
burning words. 

" Then, too, it was a son of Newburyport who was assisting 
in the domestic slave-trade of the country, and who, when re- 
proached by Garrison, flung the liberator into prison in a far-off 
city. 

" But half a century has passed away, — you can read the 
Declaration of Independence to-day and feel that every word is 
true and just. You can take up the Constitution now, and 
know that it is not a ' league with death,' but in every line and 
word a book of life. And in the noble shape of this grand 
statue now unveiled to the light of heaven, Newburyport 
welcomes back her mighty son, laurelled with the enfranchise- 
ment of millions and the purification of the republic. This, 
then, is more than a day of celebration, it is a day of reparation. 

"And, my fellow-citizens, what better day than this could 
you have chosen for this great ceremony, — the day consecrated 
to liberty and independence, a day yet ringing with the trumpet 
blast of 1776, proclaiming the birth of a new principle and a 
new nation ? What better or more appropriate place than 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 131 

Newburyport, the town which witnessed not only his birth, but 
his earliest struggles, trials, defeats, and victories? 

' Here about the beach wandered moodily a youth sublime, 
With the fairy tales of science and the long result of time.' 

" The strong-hearted, kindly people of Newburyport know 
how the more than fatherless boy stood by his more than 
widowed mother in her distress. They know how he walked 
with poverty as a friend, how he clasped hands with labor 
as a brother, how he sat at the cobbler's bench, how he rose 
to the printer's case in the old 'Herald' office in Newbury- 
port, and how his own teeming brain originated the very 
articles he set up in type with his own hand. 

" Aud what grander example of a high-souled, heroic man 
can you celebrate on such a day, in such a place, than William 
Lloyd Garrison, the ever-faithful priest of liberty ! Permit 
me, then, to congratulate you that you are able, here and now, 
to celebrate that rare trinity, — the time, the place, and the man. 
On this auspicious day, in the most fitting place, then contem- 
plate with me briefly and swiftly the life-work of William Lloyd 
Garrison. 

" It would be hard to find anywhere a life of humbler be- 
ginning, and it is inspiring to trace that life from its early 
obscurity to see how, day by day, it was lighted up by the 
clear flame of high moral purpose and indomitable patience 
and courage, till at the close it shone and blazed with a 
splendor of achievement such as seldom crowns the efforts 
of man. Look at the condition of the country as Garrison 
came to manhood. 

"The sounds of the last great war had died away; the 
evils of that war and of the embargo had been severe ; but 
peace had brought about a new state of affairs. Cotton was 
growing in the South, and was manufactured in the North, 
Industry, trade, commerce, business, began to flourish. The 
Missouri Compromise had been effected. An ' era of good feel- 
ing ' had arrived. There was a lull, a truce, in the irrepres- 
sible conflict between freedom and slavery, 

" The people were devoted to material considerations and 
interests. They planted, they watered, and they harvested ; 



132 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

they toiled and they spun; they married and gave in mar- 
riage. The law gave its sanction to the existing conditions of 
things ; the clergy added their benediction and ' all went merry 
as a marriage bell.' 

"But the triumphal march of their prosperity was not 
altogether pleasing to one strong soul, — the soul of William 
Lloyd Garrison. In 1828, July 4, sixty-five years ago, the 
man who will give a warmer glow to our hearts to-day stood 
here in Newburyport, as I stand now, and read to your 
fathers, — perhaps to some boy who stands before me now a 
gray-haired sire — the Declaration of Independence. He also 
wrote a fervent ode for that occasion, which seems to have 
been conducted under the auspices of the artillery company 
of Newburyport. 

' For the reign of free thoughts and free acts has begun, 
And joy to the people whose hearts are but one.' 

These were the words which finished one stanza of his ode. 
His soul was filled with great thoughts on that great day, and 
his beloved country and the reign of freedom and equality were 
foremost ideas in his mind. 

" As he contemplated, under the influence of these feelings, 
the conditions of his country, as he read again and again the 
glowing words of the great Declaration, he saw a gloomy 
figure, the figure of slavery, sitting at the fireside of the 
South and casting an appalling shadow beyond the house- 
hold over all the country and over the world. He was 
startled and dismayed. 

" His sense of justice led him to desire the destruction of 
slavery; but his clear judgment showed him also the peril 
of his country, and led him to desire the salvation of his 
country from that peril. He knew, with Homer, that 'he 
who enslaves a fellow-man takes half that man's worth away,' 
but he knew also that the enslaver loses more than half 
his own worth. The captor is the captive, the master is the 
slave. 

" He knew that all the iron ranks of Lacedsemon were but 
as straw and chaff while a single Helot remained to desire 
his right in his revenge; he knew that all the conquests 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 133 

of Eome were empty dreams while a single bondsman pined 
for freedom ; and he realized that all the crescent power and 
glory of his own beloved land were but dust and ashes 
while three millions of his fellow-creatures, living under the 
Constitution and the flag, were subject to the auction-block, 
to chains, to the lash, to slavery and all its dark incidents. 

" The pomp of prosperity, therefore, did not dazzle him, and 
over the hum of industry, above the somnolent drone of the 
pupil, the soothing tones of the 'clerical appeal,' the cold 
measured accents of the bench, — he heard, like muffled 
thunder, growing louder day by day, the voice of God say- 
ing, 'Let my people go, that they may serve me.' And he 
felt a personal responsibility. 

" The command came to him to remove at once the danger 
which threatened white man and black. He knew the truth 
of Whittier's words; he knew 

* That laws of changeless justice bind 

Oppressor with oppressed ; 
And close as sin and suffering joined 
We march to fate abreast.' 

The march of the nation was brought to a halt. It was the 
type-setter of Newburyport that gave the command. He says : 
' The clergy were against me, the nation was against me ; but 
God and his truth, and the rights of man' were with him. 
In the cooler temperature of to-day we can see how the uncom- 
promising spirit of Garrison awoke the wrath and the dread of 
the communities infected with slavery ; and how to many he 
appeared, not as a philanthropist, a Christian, a man of peace, 
but as a reckless agitator menacing life and property, — 

' A maniac scattering dust, 
A fury slinging flame.' 

" But great causes cannot be compromised. Garrison be- 
lieved that every day the guilty country was piling up the 
wrath of Heaven. The necessity for action was pressing, not 
only to give liberty to the African, but safety to the white 
man. The body politic was tainted with leprosy ; the Con- 
stitution was a ' league with death and a covenant with hell.' 



134 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

He was willing to suffer himself. He had the blood of the 
martyr in him. He felt it coursing hotly through his veins. 
He was willing to shed it and seal his faith with the ruddiest 
drops of his heart. He took up the cause of the captive, — his 
opponents said it was vanity. It was a vanity for which he 
was willing to pay in stripes ; for which he suffered imprison- 
ment, poverty, obloquy, loss of friends, and loss of comfort. 

"There was no great cause which he espoused for which 
he was not willing to suffer. Temperance, the equal rights 
of women, all found in him a whole-souled advocate and 
supporter. 

" The present is not an age of martyrs ; the great age of 
antislavery agitation was. Garrison declared and wrought 
for his convictions. He received stripes, blows, obloquy, — 
he languished in jail ; he suffered the penalties of the law, 
the bitterness of poverty. These evils he took upon himself 
in a Christ-like spirit. His personal sufferings meant the 
rescue of millions from worse sufferings. 

" In our practical day the agitator receives, not martyrdom 
for his labors, but a salary and a place. It is our duty to 
respect the martyr of the old days, if we have no desire to 
imitate him. 

" Fellow-citizens, it is fitting that the statue of this brave, 
loyal, resolute son of Newburyport should stand here, an image, 
eloquent though silent, of an inflexible purpose of a soul faith- 
ful unto death, of a mind capacious enough to hold vast concep- 
tions of constitutional freedom, of the rights of man, capacious 
enough to include all classes and conditions of men. 

" Garrison is the first in the great line of protagonists in the 
cause of human freedom. Look at that splendid line : Garri- 
son, Phillips, Sumner, Andrew, Lincoln ! 

" Let every bold, free spirit of the universe be present here, 
hovering around this figure. Let the wind and the rain and 
the sunlight rejoice in this kindred spirit of freedom regulated 
by divine law alone. Let the northeast blast, exulting in its 
liberty, dash from the font of the free Atlantic ever and again 
baptismal spray over this child of the God whose service is 
perfect freedom. 

" Let every boy and girl of Newburyport, of Massachusetts, 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 135 

of America, learn the lesson of Garrison's life and philosophy, 
— that you cannot deprive another man of his right without 
losing your own ; that the safety and happiness of men and of 
nations can only be found in the path of justice and truth ; that 
slavery of any sort, physical, moral, social, or political, debases 
the master as well as the servant or slave, and that the law of 
nations as well as the law of States can have full force and 
effect only when in meaning and purpose they are in harmony 
with the law of God." 

Greenhalge spoke in March, 1893, before the Press Club of 
Lowell, on Journalism. Those who heard him on that occa- 
sion say that he then appeared at his best; his spirits were 
bright, his manner fresh, and his speech full of wit and^ 
wisdom. 

"I am to speak of 'Journalism and its Opportunities.' 
Journalism is an art, it is also a science ; and it has much 
to do with all arts and sciences. In fact, it is the mirror of alii 
arts and sciences. It is the panorama of all the progress of all 
the world. Its agents and servants are steam, electricity, me- 
chanics, and every branch of human knowledge and invention ;, 
and every forward step made in any art or science, in knowl- 
edge or invention, every improvement in steam, electricity, me- 
chanics, — each and all are reflected and repeated in journalism. 
The tutelary deity of journalism is Hermes or Mercury, the god 
of intelligence, of news, flying over the earth with wings on 
hat and heels, bearing his staff (caduceus), which may have been 
a pencil, the herald of the Immortals, the Journalist of the 
universe. 

"What wonderful progress has been made in this art of 
journalism within fifty years ! Some of you can remember 
when a newspaper was a rarity, a luxury more talked of than 
seen ; borrowed or stolen quite as often as bought, treasured 
like a family Bible, and sometimes nearly as old ! An editor 
sat in a niche like a saint, and a reporter was spoken of with 
bated breath ! But steam presses, telegraphs, telephones, count- 
less improvements in types and forms, in systems and methods 
have made great changes. The daily newspaper is as daily 
bread to the people ; it is no longer a luxury, but a necessity 



136 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

of life, like fuel or light ; a necessity in every family, and a 
power in every nation, — guiding, checking, and inspiring the 
thought and action of millions, in business, politics, art, educa- 
tion, and morals. Here, then, is a stupendous power, and upon 
the whole a power wielded with intelligence and beneficence. 

"Journalism is the bright living record of the day's doings in 
action and thought, — catching glimpses of the ' Cynthia of the 
minute,' — making a permanent picture of ephemeral and 
evanescent things, reproducing like an instantaneous photo- 
graph the ever-varying forms of human existence in actual 
motion. Journalism is the first flash of the daylight of truth, 
of fact or opinion. It stands at the gateway of the day, and, 
leaping into the chariot of the sun, completes the circuit of the 
world from east to west. It presents to the eyes of men the 
life of day, and 

* Every moment, lightly shaken, 
Kuns itself in golden sands.' 

" To establish and maintain a great journal is a noble and a 
difficult task. Money, talent, skill, patience, industry, experi- 
ence, all are needed. To please the public taste without pan- 
dering to bad taste ; to be constant in principle without getting 
' out of touch ' with the people ; to maintain a high standard, a 
pure tone, and not become prosy and didactic ; to give the news 
and yet not deprave by the manner of giving it ; to stand out 
against the open or covert bribery of powerful interests and 
yet not offend stockholders ; to refuse to sell editorial indorse- 
ments and yet pay dividends, — these are some of the diffi- 
culties of journalism. 

" The advertising department, too, is a source of danger or 
evil to good journalism. The ' pot-boiling ' business is allowed 
to encroach too much upon the legitimate ground of the news- 
paper. The public gets very tired of reading thrilling episodes 
terminating in glowing eulogies of a superior vermifuge or a 
panacea for pulmonary diseases. Nor do the people gaze with 
unmixed admiration on the genial countenances of the fortunate 
or unfortunate beings whose solitary distinction consists in hav- 
ing been cured of some terrible complaint. And the long gal- 
lery of benefactors of humanity, like Lydia Pinkham, ceases to 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 137 

charm. Even the interesting physiognomy of Mr. Douglas, 
the three-dollar shoe-manufacturer, is no longer regarded ' a 
thing of beauty and a joy forever.' 

"It not infrequently happens that a quarter-page portrait 
confronts us as we take up our daily paper. We know that it 
is a time of crisis ; that Europe is standing on a volcano ; that 
a new star has been discovered in the constellation Auriga ; 
that the stars and stripes have been run up on a great Inman 
liner ; that Gladstone has spoken or Bismarck is silent. Who, 
then, is the hero of the critical hour? Simple John Smith, 
who is alleged to have been brought back to life by somebody's 
indescribable compound of inexpressible ingredients. We heave 
a sigh, and thank Heaven it is no worse. 

" The great requisites of good journalism are character, in- 
dividuality, enterprise, and originality, and, above all, sincerity. 
The great journals of the United States rise like the White 
Mountain peaks, each distinct, easily recognized by tone and 
spirit ; and they reflect the light of public opinion as the great 
mountains reflect the light of the morning sun. But the lesser 
peaks, the little hills of journalism, have quite an important 
part to play. Here and there a * country paper,' so called, rises 
by its special features or situation to a considerable prominence 
as a metropolitan journal ; it is the journalistic Monadnock or 
Agamenticus of the neighborhood. Such a paper speaks with 
authority, and is quoted with respect. Such a paper stands 
like a Highland laird, or a great nobleman in his Northern 
fortress in 'the brave days of old.' 

" Sincerity, I say, is the great desideratum in the editor, in 
the reporter, in the business agent, in the advertising depart- 
ment ; and neither department must encroach on the other. 
They must be kept apart as sacredly as the Constitution keeps 
apart the executive, the legislative, and the judicial depart- 
ments of the government. Venality is the great danger of the 
day in journalism as well as in everything else. Newspapers 
must be the mouthpieces of principle, not of the highest bidder ; 
the spirit of truth, and not of subsidy. 

" The opportunities of journalism are vast. Journalists are 
the uncrowned sovereigns of republics ; their power is as abso- 
lute as that of justice and honor. Their edicts are obeyed, if 



138 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

truly their own edicts, and not those of impostors. The jour- 
nalist is accepted by the people, except when he plays the lob- 
byist, the speculator, or the quack. If he is ever dethroned, 
it is by his own act, his own abdication. 

" And what a striking figure of this bright age of ours is the 
journalist ! If we regard the newsboy as the journalist in the 
chrysalis, it is not a disparagement of this responsible profes- 
sion. The eager little messenger is learning promptness, tact, 
dexterity, patience. He is bearing news ; he is learning, and 
at a very early age, that 

* The proper study of mankind is man,' 

and the boy is father to the man. All doors are open to him. 
He stands before the rich and powerful, and is undismayed. 
He listens to the cry of the poor, and is filled with pity. He 
must look upon crime and virtue. All learning and knowledge 
comes within his ken. He cannot catch and keep all of it, but 
he cannot help absorbing education. 

" The true journalist is a man of high and inflexible purpose ; 
no more than the gladiator can he yield to debauchery or folly. 
Every muscle, nerve, and fibre is on duty at every hour. Take 
Macaulay's fine description of the members of the Society of 
Jesus, and apply it to the journalist : ' They glided from one 
country to another under innumerable disguises, — as gay cava- 
liers, as simple rustics, and Puritan preachers. They wandered 
to countries which neither mercantile avidity nor liberal curi- 
osity had ever impelled any stranger to explore. None of 
them had chosen his vocation or his dwelling-place for himself. 
If he was wanted at Lima, he was on the Atlantic in the next 
fleet ; if he was wanted at Bagdad, he was toiling through the 
desert with the next caravan.' 

" In peace and in war he goes at a word, a sign, into scenes 
of darkness and danger. He is on the track of the murderer 
swifter than the detective ; he explores the depths of African 
forests with Stanley ; he is in the front of battle with Archibald 
Forbes and Charles Carleton Coffin ; and he is buried, like Barker, 
pencil in hand, under the blazing ruins of a great conflagration. 

" Journalism has a mighty influence to guide public opinion 
in the way of public good ; and in its mission of enhghtenment 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 139 

and progress the press of Lowell has a golden opportunity. 
We lack here that quality called public spirit. We know all 
about cotton-mills ; our enterprises, corporate and individual, 
are stupendous, the admiration of the country ; but in the 
enterprise which beautifies, elevates, and gives pleasure to the 
community, we are sadly deficient. And it is not because we 
have nothing in ourselves to arouse our pride. We have our 
mills, and we have had men illustrious. We buried a great 
man the other day. General Butler, — the most unique, the most 
individual man, if I may say so, the nation has ever known. 
We have but recently laid away one of the greatest hydraulic 
engineers in the world, James B. Francis. We have had 
musicians and painters born among us, — a David Neal in 
Vienna, a James Whistler in London, and a Chadwick in 
Boston. These are men whose genius redounds to the credit of 
Lowell. When you seek a modern hero, you go to the Pacific 
isles where Father Damien died. In Lowell, when the small- 
pox raged, a physician, trained in the schools of Paris and 
Vienna, rich and delicately nurtured, immured himself at the 
pest-house, and there conducted the treatment of the disease 
upon such a scientific and practical plan that it was speedily 
stamped out. And the fame of his self-sacrifice spread abroad, 
and from other cities smitten with the plague came requests 
that the successful methods of Dr. Abner Wheeler Buttrick 
might be imparted to them. 

" We have much to glory in, but we do not glorify as we 
should. We have a limited admiration for art, paintings, 
sculpture, music, and oratory when the weather is fine, but we 
do little to encourage these accomplishments. We have crude 
notions of beauty in color, form, or sound. When Pericles 
seized the treasure of Delos, the people cried out in protest. 
Pericles said to them : ' You know much of war and of com- 
merce, but you know nothing of art. You men of Attica must 
rise above your grosser selves ; you must learn of art ; ' and he 
spent the treasure in rearing those beautiful forms that refined 
a people and survived all their other institutions. 

" The newspapers of Lowell should unite to lead Lowell from 
its indifference, from its narrow plodding in the service of the 
exacting dollar, into the higher and less selfish influence of a 



140 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

public ambition that is not subservient to commercial or indus- 
trial considerations. 

" Let journalism, then, be true to itself, worthy of the vast 
confidence reposed in it by the people. And let the journalist 
know and realize that the trust he holds is sacred, and large 
enough to call forth all the ability and all the training which 
he can possibly bring into its service." 

At the dedication of the Milford library in Milford, Massa- 
chusetts, speaking of Lincoln, Greenhalge said : " There was 
the great nature of the man to begin with ; but it was only the 
rude marble in the quarry, the ore in the cavernous mine. 
It was the sweet power of the library — of books — that brought 
forth the rich colors of that marble and fashioned the rude ore 
into polished steel. It was the close and diligent study of the 
Bible, of Shakespeare and Milton, his constant companions, 
that enabled Lincoln to compose that wonderful funeral oration 
which will rank with the masterpieces of the Attic Genius, 
with the orations of Lysias or Pericles, delivered on similar 
occasions. " 

I have said much in praise of Greenhalge 's oratory, and 
have not attempted to give a critical estimate of his talent. 
His style was not without its defects, its exaggerations. 
Fire and intensity it had in abundance. He shared in the 
common defects of modern times. He employed, perhaps, too 
much rhetorical embellishment, and a certain amplitude of 
style. The conciseness and simple earnest strength that are 
said to have distinguished Demosthenes are not distinctive of 
modern oratory. Burke says, in reference to Hyder Ali : 
" Compounding all the materials of fury, havoc, desolation, 
into one black cloud, he hung for a while on the declivity of 
the mountains ; while the authors of all these evils were idly 
and stupidly gazing on this marching meteor which darkened 
all their horizon, it suddenly burst, and poured down the whole 
of its contents on the plains of the Carnatic. " Demosthenes 
says more simply, referring to Philip : " The people gave their 
voice, and the danger that hung upon our borders went by 
like a cloud. " Modern taste might prefer the former quota- 
tion with its wealth of detail. 



LAWYER AND ORATOR. 141 

Greenhalge did not often strive for the sublime and grand in 
his speeches. He belongs, rather, to the order of graceful and 
brightly imaginative orators, with Everett and Phillips. He 
was interesting ; he could never have been called that " tocsin 
of the soul, the dinner-bell, " as Burke came to be described. 
Greenhalge always sought to inspire, to elevate; he did not 
often invoke figures of terror and sublimity. 

Some of his set orations may have contained too many quo- 
tations, though they were always apt and just. The style he 
employed, however, was admirably suited to the occasion of 
his discourse, which sometimes demanded ornament and 
rhetoric. His political speeches are direct, logical and simple 
in manner, and present the issues clearly and forcibly. They 
were admirable instruments in political warfare and conten- 
tion. His other speeches possess symmetry, poetry, elegance, 
felicity, variety, and ardor. They drew their inspiration from 
the sentiments of patriotism, poetry, and political and moral 
purity. They are worthy of the man, and he of them. 



POLITICAL LIFE. 



POLITICAL LIFE. 



CHAPTEE VI. 

MAYOR OF LOWELL. 

The author has now come to the more serious task of attempt- 
ing to write the history of the political career of Greenhalge, 
— a career full of instruction and interest to patriotic men, to 
all who desire the regeneration of the political world, who 
desire to see a higher tone prevail in the contests of freemen, 
and a higher level of thought and action maintained by their 
political leaders. 

The career of Greenhalge shows with peculiar force the value 
of the scholar in politics. That phrase which, on the lips of 
politicians, means weakness and inefficiency in party struggles, 
as illustrated by his career, means virility, a high code of 
honor, morality, and perfect fitness, — nay, even genius, for 
the exercise of political duties and the warfare of party. 

It is a peculiar and demoralizing feature of our democratic 
American life that the politics of the country, and even its 
sports and pastimes, are in constant danger of falling into the 
control of a class of unscrupulous and low-minded men, who 
enter political life solely for the spoils to be earned in a 
nefarious trade in offices, who mingle in the games of the 
people in the basest spirit of professionalism for the sake of 
money. These men are uneducated, immoral, avaricious, mean- 
spirited. Their natural intelligence is often of a high order, 
however; but it is perverted and prostituted. In political 

10 



146 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

contests they are no mean antagonists, and are frequently left 
in sole and victorious possession of the field. 

To rescue the great city of New York from their control, even 
for a brief interval, is considered a great achievement, accom- 
plished only by the united efforts of several parties. These 
men indeed have long held, in some measure, an almost undis- 
puted sway. Young men of means, leisure, and education are 
withheld from the public service by a not unnatural disinclina- 
tion to be brought into contact with the sordid elements that 
must be encountered by all who embrace a political career. 
Other young men of ability and action, who might become 
the leaders of the people, are attracted by, and drawn into, 
the great world of business ; the opportunities of which are so 
splendid, and the prizes so alluring. 

The American people, pure and enlightened as any in the 
world, have nevertheless sometimes allowed their municipalities 
to become the spoil of men politically almost as corrupt as 
Clodius and Milo. They devote themselves to the business 
interests of their country, but its political affairs are left, to a 
large extent, to a class of men who have come to be known as 
" Ward heelers " and " Bosses. " 

The civil service of the country requires leaders certainly of 
as high a character as its military service demands. The 
people should turn the bosses out of their undeserved positions 
of trust as quickly and as thoroughly as Cromwell turned out 
the " tapsters " and " serving men " whom he found command- 
ing as officers the Parliamentary armies. The need is as great 
that they should be replaced by men of principle, of con- 
science, and of intellect. There is immense reserve force 
in the virtue and intelligence of the American people and nation. 
Our people are, in all respects, worthy to be the citizens of a 
great republic. Evils cannot make great inroads upon the 
nation while its citizens remain what they are, — industrious 
and virtuous. 

The political bosses, however, have one stronghold in the 
ignorance that prevails to some extent in the millions of immi- 
grants unprepared for the duties of citizenship that await them 
here. To remedy this evil has become the task of the American 
people. They need the help of the most enlightened classes : 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 147 

they need leaders of the highest character, of ability, and 
education. 

There is a pressure exerted for evil upon the State, both from 
below and above, — the pressure of the lowest stratum and 
the highest, of poverty and wealth. Between these two forces 
stands the nation, armed with immense power. In itself it 
embraces almost all that is valuable in human life, all that 
it is necessary to maintain and defend. 

" You cannot deceive all the people all the time. " So 
spoke the wisest of Americans. The people have indeed often 
been deceived and betrayed by both politicians and parties ; 
but their eyes have always been opened at last, and their 
wisdom vindicated. It has been said by a keen observer that 
the judgment of Parliament is always more to be trusted than 
that of the wisest of its members. The collective wisdom of 
the people is also greater than that of the wisest man. Great, 
however, as is the intelligence of the nation, it is not quick ; 
its judgment is often delayed, its convictions slowly formed, 
its penalties long put off, its faith and trust not easily dis- 
turbed. The mind of the nation is slow, trustful, incorrup- 
tible, and infallible. 

The political boss does not believe in the virtue of the 
people. He is not dismayed in the least, though on the one 
side stand trickery, bribery, chicanery, falsehood, the lowest 
partisanship, and public dishonor; on the other, the immense 
power of the people, the majesty of the law, statesmanship, and 
public credit, — on the one side Themis, on the other Caliban. 

The cry of the people in all their immense conflicts is for 
leaders, — leaders worthy of their high position. It is because 
Greenhalge was a worthy leader, endowed with conscience, 
courage, and loyalty, that his life should not be left without 
a record. He was not linked by fortune with great events. 
His career was, however, exemplary and suggestive, full of 
lessons which ought to be learned and remembered. 

Government by party is a necessity of democracy. It is a 
means of government ; with all its imperfections we must 
accept it. It is the marvel of democracy that what we see is, 
below, the incessant and bitter strife of factions and parties ; 
above, the constitution, stable government, the firm magistrate 



148 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

and just judge. Out of the discordant elements of party issue 
firmness, moderation, national credit, and stability. Party 
government justifies itself. 

By instinct, inclination, and education Greenhalge was not 
a partisan. The necessity of party government he accepted, 
as all men must in a free country. In political warfare he 
became a partisan chief. All his life he belonged to the 
Eepublican party ; all his efforts were directed to achieve its 
success. The honors that came to him were the gift of that 
party. His services were long-continued and great, and with 
indefatigable energy he gave himself to the cause. 

We do not, however, expect that the forensic efforts of the 
advocate will represent truly in all things his own private 
convictions. We need not think that all that Greenhalge 
found it necessary to say in the interests of his party repre- 
sented always his own private belief. He owed no divided 
allegiance, however; he was never separated from the Eepub- 
lican party by any divergence of opinion in matters of deep 
importance. Yet he was not the man to give up to party what 
was meant for mankind, though he willingly sacrificed his 
private opinions when conscience allowed. 

He never was a fanatical partisan, and he never could have 
been. The grand work accomplished by the Republican party 
in the past, its great history in war and peace, the heroic names 
emblazoned on its standards, aroused his admiration. Its 
great principles of government represented his own profound 
convictions. Its great impetus he believed to be far from 
exhausted, and capable still of carrying it over all obstacles 
triumphantly. The intelligence of the country to him seemed 
mainly to stand on that side. The base and sordid elements 
that exist in every party he never denied or palliated; his 
opposition to them in his own could always be counted on. 
He was never, in fact, a mere politician ; he said so himself, 
as will be seen in his letters. 

Political life was, in many respects, distasteful to him ; he 
was disgusted by its baser side ; he had learned to know men. 
Like all political leaders, he had seen much of the worst 
side of mankind. He knew well the selfish office-seeker and 
place-hunter; he had experienced the plague of men eager 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 149 

for self-advancement; he had seen their self-abasement and 
disregard of personal honor. 

His sense of duty called him into politics. I do not say 
that he was not ambitious, but it was the sense of duty that 
bound him to political servitude. Apollo had to serve 
Admetus. Greenhalge never shrank from the duties of the 
hour. He fought a man's fight, he took a man's part in the 
conflicts of men, and he died in harness. His ambitions in 
life, his characteristic aims and purposes, his own character, 
in short, are well explained in the following pages, contributed 
by his old and intimate friend Judge Lawton, of Lowell : — 

" It is probable that Greenhalge 's youthful ambition was not 
for distinction in the public service. He had a love of ora- 
tory ; he cultivated it ; he excelled in it. He did not do it 
that he might shine in Congress. If he dreamed of glory, it 
was of a literary kind. His father's classical tastes and love of 
literature may have shaped the boy's mind and his ambition. 
The difference between him and the bright American boys 
around him was in their purposes. The end they aimed at 
was an election to something, — anything to begin with, and 
the highest elective office in the world to end with. They all 
wished to learn to make speeches to help them to get and to 
keep votes. He desired perfection in the lines of oratory and 
of literary accomplishment as an end in itself. He thought of 
the prepared and finished oration rather than of the political 
speech. He had the taste and temperament of the artist rather 
than that of the politician. He yearned to do work in these 
lines that should be artistic. He has been quoted as saying 
with mingled seriousness and playfulness, * I have had but one 
ambition, and that was to write a successful novel. ' He did 
not mean that this statement should be accepted literally. 
He certainly had ambitions in other directions. He did love 
to prepare, to criticise, and to deliver public addresses. He 
had a playful, imaginative, philosophical, didactic spirit, 
which, without doubt, did draw him toward the entertaining 
and instructive work of the highest fiction. He could not 
paint on canvas nor carve on marble, but wherever he could 
paint or carve perfect forms, he loved to do so. 

" Such was the man, and his ambitions were such as such 



150 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

men have. He was so different from most successful statesmen 
that most of them failed to comprehend him. His mental 
constitution was so different from that of the ordinary poli- 
tician that it remained an impenetrable mystery to very many, 
even to the day of his death. He was precocious. He matured 
early. He was considerably cultivated at an age when most 
boys of his time were raw and crude. His passion for sym- 
metry, his comprehension of it, his attainment of it ; his imagi- 
nation, at once powerful and disciplined; the quality and 
finish of all the results he reached, — were marvellous to his 
immature associates. They looked upon his genius with as 
much awe as such boys were capable of feeling for anything. 
It was this impression, never effaced from the minds of his 
schoolmates, which led them, on his return to Lowell from 
college, to urge him for ' political honors. ' Such a wonderful 
fellow as Greenhalge ought to be ' elected ' to something at 
once ! This tribute to his excellent parts by those who knew 
him best was sweet to him. He was not a cynic. The power 
to please carried with it the desire for appreciation. He de- 
served applause ; he liked it. 

" Lowell was then, as it is now, in many ways a ' very 
democratic place. ' In all parts of the great democracy of 
America, the continued counting of votes and the frequent 
announcement that * Blank appears to have the majority, ' tends, 
doubtless, to perfect equality. The king is not made by birth, 
but by votes. Still there is not a hamlet in the world where 
there is not a ' ruling class. ' That class may maintain itself . 
by majorities of all the votes cast, or by military might, buti 
it will maintain itself until the millennium. Lowell was 
founded by a few strong men. They built huge mills con- 
trolled by a dozen incorporated companies. These ' corpora- 
tions ' were united closely in order to control the water power, 
and doubtless for other good purposes. Their capital stock 
was held and owned everywhere except in Lowell. In the 
early days of Lowell the managers of these mills managed the 
people who worked for them. They managed them prudently, 
wisely, and for those days benevolently. They managed the 
schools, they managed the churches, they managed Lowell. 
The resident ' agents ' were the chief officers in control, 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 151 

who were visible to the people. Under them, and sup- 
posed to act by their direction, were the master workmen, — 
' overseers,' — who served as captains, not only in the indus- 
tries, but in the government of the community. In the early 
days these men were men of character and capacity ; their 
government was far from intolerable. In course of time they 
were gradually supplanted by men whose management was 
stupid, while the mill management had been intelligent, — 
exclusively selfish, while the selfishness of the mill satraps had 
been joined with a regard for the best interests of the city. 
Greenhalge's first candidacy for office was when the old order 
of things was passing away and the new was coming in. The 
only reason for mentioning the old is to account for one char- 
acteristic o£ both the old and the new. The new inherited a 
dictatorial authority and power from the old. The men who 
composed the new came into power one by one, humbly ; 
they crept in. In turn, they required that everybody else 
should creep in, and should come in by their permission. 
Some of them were still employed in the mills. But they 
appeared more to act in their individual capacities than as 
subordinates of their employers. No political bosses of the 
present day, even with the corrupt use of money, maintain 
their authority more undisputed than these Lowell bosses, 
without money, without ability, without public spirit, main- 
tained theirs for years. In fact, it is only recently that they 
appear to have been unseated and overthrown by still newer 
men, perhaps more reckless and audacious than they; but 
possibly no more selfish nor more indifferent to the public 
welfare. 

" The first public office Greenhalge ever held was that of 
a member of the municipal council of Lowell. Whatever 
ideals he had, he never despised what is meant everywhere in 
America when the word ' politics ' is used. Although it has 
been said that he was an artist by nature, he always had a 
wholesome regard for every useful thing. In all his life, in all 
the offices which he held, he saw little difference of grade. 
The constant struggle of a free people to legislate well for 
themselves, to govern themselves, whether in the Lowell 
Common Council or in the National Congress, was always to 



152 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

him an effort of dignity and honor. The principle that was 
operating, and not the field of its operation, was to him 
sublime. 

" At this time the hostility to him of the Lowell manage- 
ment became apparent. If it ever ceased, it did not cease for a 
quarter of a century. Admitted to be the most brilliant young 
man in Lowell, it was at least twenty years before he was 
permitted to represent a larger constituency than that of Lowell. 
The captains of tens in the ward in which he lived long opposed 
his selection as a representative to the General Court of Massa- 
chusetts. Had he desired a political career, had he pushed 
himself forward, and had he fought for political place, he would 
have become distinguished much earlier. That he was a man 
of extraordinary genius was readily admitted even by the man- 
agers of affairs in Lowell ; but the long line of those regularly 
initiated into the ruling order never shortened. Greenhalge 
they all ' admired, ' but they feared he was not ' practical. ' 
The real objection was that he was absolutely independent of 
everybody's control, and they wished nobody to be in any 
position of power whom they could not command and be 
sure that he would obey. Men of his stature rather dwarfed 
the smaller men who were to be promoted regularly and 
judiciously. " 

So writes Judge Lawton of the opposition Greenhalge en- 
countered in some quarters. 

Greenhalge only once voted out of the Eepublican party. 
He was thoroughly consistent in his allegiance to the princi- 
ples of that party, even in this divergence from its outward 
course. In the presidential election of 1878 he voted for Horace 
Greeley. General Grant was the nominee of the Eepublicans. 
That great American, the greatest captain of his age, possessed 
in military affairs an all-embracing mind. He had the especial 
talent common to all great commanders, — that which serves 
them best, the talent that enables them to choose the best sub- 
ordinates, to discover the value of men for special services. 
Such men invariably surround themselves with able lieuten- 
ants, men capable of forwarding their far-reaching plans. 
They seem to know by instinct the characters of the oflicers 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 153 

they employ. Such was Grant, — in war the most discrimi- 
nating of men. As President, his judgment was not so infal- 
lible. The men whom he trusted were not always worthy of 
esteem. In civil life he seemed often wrongly to conceive the 
character of men. He was deceived in many cases. Scandals 
were not unknown in his administration ; in consequence the 
conscience of the country was affected, and discontent with 
the administration arose in many quarters. General Grant 
also had too much of the absolute in his nature to fit him 
entirely for the management of civil affairs. Like Wellington, 
in a similar position, he was somewhat autocratic ; he did not 
like to be crossed in his plans even by public sentiment. In 
the case of San Domingo, it even looked as if he wished to force 
his ideas upon the country. 

Dissatisfaction grew during his administration, and led to 
a split in the party, and the nomination of Greeley for Presi- 
dent. Greenhalge shared in the common feeling, and voted 
for Greeley. I believe he afterward came to think it a mis- 
take, and perhaps he regretted it. He never after showed any 
disposition to revolt from the party ; even in later years, when 
the great Mugwump exodus occurred, when men of high char- 
acter and education deserted the party of their sires and for- 
got its great deeds and traditions, he stood by his colors. He 
might have sympathized, to some extent, with their dissatis- 
faction with the course of events ; his personal ideas might 
have differed in some things from those that governed the 
Republican party, but he never, after the Greeley campaign, 
swerved from open allegiance to its great principles. 

Judge Lawton, who appreciated at the time the feeling 
under the influences of which Mr. Greenhalge acted, though 
he did not share it, writes as follows of the position of affairs, 
the reasons that operated in Mr. Greenhalge 's mind, and the 
political circumstances that led to his bolt from the Republi- 
can party : — 

" The year 1872 marks an epoch in Greenhalge 's political 
career. It may be nearer the truth to say that it marks the 
beginning of it. He was thirty years old. 

" General Grant had been renominated to the Presidency by 
the Republican party. He had quarrelled with Charles Sum- 



154 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

ner, or Charles Sumner had quarrelled with him. Sumner 
was the idol of Massachusetts. In the great moral conflict — 
in that great national debate which preceded the appeal to arms 
— Sumner, in the eyes of Massachusetts, had attained heroic 
stature. In fact, he was at once a hero and a martyr. In the 
assault on slavery he early took the lead, and behind him, 
nearly unanimous, stood the people of Massachusetts. Brooks, 
of South Carolina, answered his ' Crime against Kansas ' with 
blows, and left him for dead upon the floor of the Senate 
Chamber at Washington. When the flag was fired upon at 
Sumter, the entire North was aroused by a passion that was 
fervent and patriotic ; but no such wave of wrath and indigna- 
tion swept through the old Commonwealth as when her Senator 
was beaten down by Brooks. The war, emancipation, and 
reconstruction were Sumner's triumph and vindication. The 
best of his life had been sublimely devoted to the ' cause. ' 
Such men as he have opinions and wills of their own. He 
came into conflict with the gentle, inflexible, indomitable 
Grant. The men of camp were still around Grant. Perhaps 
some of them he trusted too much, — trusted as he always 
trusted his friends, even to his financial ruin in New York. 
Those of them who were unworthy of the great captain could 
not prevent his great, substantial success, either in the Cabinet 
or in the field, and they can never dim his fame. 

" Sumner, first hurt, then indignant at his own treatment by 
a soldier president, and then shocked by what seemed to "him 
to be ' nepotism and corruption, ' ' bolted ' the second nomina- 
tion of Grant. With him went Horace Greeley and scores of 
the leaders of the Eepublican party, followed by thousands 
of patriotic civil-service reformers, young and old, all over the 
country. Nowhere was the revolt proportionately so great as 
in Massachusetts. There was a rush to the side of Sumner. 
Very many of the best and truest of those who were leaders 
then, or have become leaders since, trusted implicitly to 
the judgment of their spotless Senator. Greenhalge was 
borne along in that generous tide of ' civil-service reform. ' 
To the day of his death he was a ' civil-service reformer, ' 
although he did not agree with all who used or misused that 
name. He believed in a constant reform looking always 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 155 

towards fitter men for all departments of the public service. 
He never took part in any political trick ; he never counte- 
nanced any. Under the flag of reform he followed Sumner 
into the Democratic party. The management of Lowell was 
not so potent then in the Democratic as in the Eepublican 
party. The reason was that the Democratic party was then in 
the minority, and the management dealt only with majorities. 
Greenhalge was nominated as candidate for State Senator on 
the Democratic ticket. He was nominated because he was bril- 
liant and talented, and because the young men who did the 
nominating had no desire to keep him in obscurity. Lowell 
was a Eepublican stronghold, and he was defeated. The great 
number of votes he received much disturbed those who regarded 
him as a constant menace to their stupid and selfish control of 
local affairs. They rejoiced, however, that he was at last out 
of the party that was in power. To their dismay he did not 
stay out. Only four years later he was again in good standing 
in the Eepublican party. Many good Eepublicans would 
doubt that he ever had good reason to leave it. Many good 
Democrats could see no good reason after he was once well out 
of it for him to go back again to it. He was so frank, so logi- 
cal in his own treatment of this change and rechange of par- 
ties, that he was seldom accused of fickleness. The bosses of 
the party to which he finally returned had more to say about 
it than those whom he finally abandoned. In 1872 he 
thought that, with Greeley elected President, with Sumner the 
power behind the throne, and a host of old anti slavery heroes 
in places of power, whether the administration were to be 
called Democratic or not, the old Eepublican principles would 
never suffer injury. He had a broad and catholic confidence 
in the common people, which was truly Lincolnian. He never 
believed that the Democratic party was composed of rascals. 
It was seven years after Appomattox ; he thought that the time 
had come to drive out of the public service the rascals of both 
parties. Nobody saw better than he that great political parties 
are necessary in a free democracy. He understood that no 
such party, with its millions of thinking men, can be an 
absolute unit in opinion. He knew that to decide great ques- 
tions each party must act as a unit. On the other hand, he 



156 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

believed in the ' divine right to bolt. ' It was weak to bolt 
continually. It was a matter of conscience with every voter 
to decide when the emergency was so great as to justify him 
in deserting his standard. He stayed with the party with 
which he could agree in ' essentials, ' and claimed the right to 
disagree as to ' non-essentials. ' In 1872 he thought he differed 
in essentials, and he bolted. In 1876 the two chief planks in 
the Eepublican platform were ' Hard Money and Civil Service 
Eeform. ' It seemed to him that the question of honest pay- 
ment of the national obligations, as against the ' greenback 
heresy, ' had become an ' essential. ' He was for resumption, 
as against what seemed to him to be repudiation. It seemed 
to him, also, whether he looked at the platforms or the candi- 
dates, that if either party was for civil-service reform, it was 
the Republican party. For that cause he had left that party, 
and for that cause, and to maintain the nation's currency and 
the nation's honor, to that party he thought he might well 
return. 

" Perhaps it was not until 1872 that his brilliant work upon 
the political stump fairly began. He was heard outside of 
Lowell, and from that time forth the demand upon him for 
political speeches and other public addresses and orations 
rapidly increased. If he ever had a secondary ambition for 
political office as subordinate to the objects of his supreme 
ambition, it is practically certain that at this time he had 
given it all up. He did not expect office ; he did not wish 
for it. He had found delight in work upon the public plat- 
form. In politics his ideals were high. He raised his stand- 
ard ; he followed it, not caring into which political camp it 
led. His artistic temper had found a new delight in certain 
kinds of political work. He was freer from anxiety than 
many, because at that time he cared for no political reward. 
His subsequent elections to public office came to him literally 
unsought. Being once elected, no man in America, either liv- 
insf or dead, ever did the work he was called to do with a more 
disinterested, spotless, patriotic, public purpose than did he. " 

Greenhalge had few more intimate friends than Judge Law- 
ton, and the above sketch explains much in his career. 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 157 

Greenhalge, as a young man, seemed destined at once to 
enter into the political life of the country. He belonged to 
that class of young men who by their talents immediately 
attract attention, to that profession which insensibly leads 
its votaries into the field of politics. He was marked for 
political preferment from the outset of his career ; his orator- 
ical talent was recognized at once ; his ambition stirred within 
him, and he felt himself destined to share in the conflicts of 
party. He wished for action and excitement, induced by his 
energetic nature, and he early turned to politics. He had felt 
the emotions of literary ambition ; his taste revolted from the 
sordid elements of political life, but his active spirit led 
him on. 

We are active beings, and our larger sympathies are always 
with an active career. We long to influence directly our 
fellow-men, to realize the results of our endeavors without the 
long delay that chills the fruitions of literary toil, to see our 
influence expand and our powers develop in the actual world, 
cheered by the sense of immediate recognition. It is impos- 
sible that a young man should feel all the sense of duty that 
comes with years and experience. Duty became the prime 
motive of Greenhalge's career; but it was ambition, no doubt, 
that first moved his spirit to effort, — the generous ambi- 
tion of young and fiery spirits, of Fortinbras and Henry V. 
By a cold and calculating spirit of ambition he was never 
moved. A record of the career of young men in our Repub- 
lic who enter upon the public service reads somewhat like 
that of a young noble of the Claudian or Julian families in 
the ancient Eepublic of Rome, rising by regular stages from 
fedile and prsetor to the consulship. Our offices are not so 
splendid, and their titles have become commonplace to us ; but 
the order of progress is the same. 

Greenhalge was admitted to the Bar in 1865 ; in 1868-69 he 
was elected to the Common Council of the city of Lowell ; in 
1872-73 he was a member of the School Board; in 1879 he 
was elected Mayor of Lowell ; and so on to Congress and the 
Governorship. 

If for a long time he seemed to linger in the obscurity of 
local politics, it was due to the circumstances of his position. 



158 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

The talents of Greenhalge were nevertheless ripe at an early 
age; his youthful efforts were brilliant. His first political 
speech is still remembered in Lowell ; it happened while he 
was a law student, when with great eclat he addressed a crowd 
that had assembled in the street. 

A rather amusing instance of the influence of his youthful 
eloquence occurred when he was a member of the Municipal 
Council. During that time the necessity arose for a new 
grammar-school building. At the meeting of the committee 
which was to decide the matter, young Greenhalge was late, 
and before he arrived, the question had been discussed and a 
vote passed, appropriating a far from liberal sum for the erec- 
tion of the building. When the late comer learned the result 
of the discussion, the amount voted appeared to him entirely 
inadequate ; and he protested most eloquently against what he 
considered such false economy, lack of public spirit and civic 
pride. 

The members of the committee were moved, — voted to recon- 
sider; and the result of their reconsideration is the present 
Green School building, which, whatever may be thought of 
its architecture in these days, was then considered a fine struc- 
ture, and which was the first of the many handsome school 
buildings that now beautify our city. It was Greenhalge too 
who insisted that the Common Council might adjourn at will, 
and not await the pleasure of the Board of Aldermen, — which 
action made a precedent for all time. 

From the time that he became a lawyer he spoke in all suc- 
ceeding political campaigns with increasing frequency until 
he became one of the most active speakers on the stump. In 
all these contests he gained the reputation of a fair and con- 
sistent adversary. His power of sarcasm and invective made 
him a dangerous opponent ; but his character was respected by 
the opposite party, and he made few enemies. The Demo- 
cratic citizens of his native city admired his brilliant talents, 
and always manifested a liking for him personally. They 
knew that in private his tastes and habits were Democratic, 
that he himself cherished no enmity. 

When Disraeli addressed the electors of High Wycombe at 
the hustings from the porch of the Bed Lion Tavern, a keen 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 159 

observer might have been able to prophesy with confidence all 
the future successes of the youthful orator on the grand stage 
of Parliament. So one who heard the young Greenhalge speak 
to the electors of Lowell could have foretold his after career 
with full assurance. 

His talents, indeed, were incontestable when he stood at the 
threshold of his career ; he was a bright boy, a brilliant youth, 
a man of indefatigable intellect. It would be interesting to 
trace his political life from the beginning and in detail. The 
record, however, of those early years is difficult to recover, even 
though so few years have intervened. Prior to his election as 
Mayor of Lowell, comparatively few of his speeches have been 
preserved. 

His reputation was, however, already high in his own city. 
He was known as an able lawyer and eloquent speaker ; he had 
served in the Common Council and School Board. His char- 
acter was much respected, and it was natural that he should 
be selected as a candidate for the office of Mayor of the city. 
In the convention, Dec. 3, 1879, he was nominated by the 
Eepublicans for that position by a majority of forty votes, and 
was elected, December 9, by a majority of 856 votes. 

In American history the office of mayor has often been the 
first step in the ladder of high political preferment. Executive 
ability displayed in that field of effort has always been highly 
prized by the American people. The government of our cities 
is indeed one of the crucial questions of the time ; presenting 
a dilemma which the people are called upon to solve. It is 
the rift in the armor of Britomart, — a flaw which endangers 
the safety and honor of Republican institutions. 

As Mayor of Lowell, Greenhalge won a large increase of 
popularity. His administration gave satisfaction to both 
political parties; on all the occasions when he was called 
upon to represent the city, he acquitted himself well. People 
felt that he was able to act as their representative with credit. 
His eloquence, often called into request outside of the city, 
flattered their civic pride. His character was respected, and 
his ability and firmness became better known. On Dec. 11, 
1880, he was renominated by acclamation. At this election 
he received the unusual honor of being nominated also by the 



160 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Democratic party, — a rare distinction in political annals. It 
was an honor that came to him justly, and shows the personal 
popularity that he enjoyed among all classes of the com- 
munity, the general appreciation of his unusual ability, and 
the respect that his character evoked. 

He was re-elected by a majority of 3,675 votes over his only 
opponent, put in nomination by the Anti-License party. 

At his inauguration, Jan. 3, 1881, Mayor Greenhalge in his 
address advocated the erection of a new High School, of a new 
City Hall, and the introduction of free text-books into the 
public schools ; all of which ideas have since been carried into 
execution. During his term of office, also, military drill was 
introduced into the High School. 

The City Government of Lowell has not heretofore been in 
the same predicament with some others in the country. It 
has been comparatively pure and free from political scandals 
and rings. In its early history a very high tone prevailed in 
the politics of the city. The character of the officials was 
singularly estimable. It has changed since for the worse, yet 
Mayor Greenhalge found no great evils to reform, no very- 
dark corners to clean. He could not distinguish himself very 
much in such ways ; but he enhanced his reputation in others, 
and when he left office, the chance of further political prefer- 
ment was greater than ever before. As to his career as mayor, 
a friend of his said: — 

" In 1879, without his own desire, and in spite of the per- 
sistent opposition of the local managers, with a very popular 
and capable opposing candidate, he was nominated, and by a 
large majority elected. Mayor of Lowell. He served two years. 
It can hardly be said that there was an organized opposition 
to his second election. In this service, when he was thirty- 
seven and thirty-eight years of age, he showed, beyond all 
question, that he was 'practical.' It surprised some of the 
little burgesses that a ' literary feller ' could comprehend the 
mystery of the city debt of two or three millions and the 
sinking funds to pay it off. Through his enterprise and per- 
sistency, and to their amazement, the city borrowed money at 
a lower rate than ever before. Some of them were frank enough 
to own up to their surprise. Others still clung to the view 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 161 

that a man could not excel in so many directions ; it seemed 
safer to intrust business to men who were a little dull. " 

The inaugural addresses which he delivered as Mayor are 
models of concise statement, and contain the evidence of 
much foresight, and a wise consideration of public affairs. 
The following are quotations from his speeches upon his first 
and second inaugurations : — 

" Efficiency and character are the only tests to be applied to 
appointments, and a fearless fidelity to the highest interest of 
the whole city the only principle by which your official con- 
duct should be tried. That man among you who shall square 
his conduct, not by these principles, but by some theory of 
future political preferment, betrays the trust reposed in him 
by his fellow-citizens, and violates the solemn obligation he 
has first taken. " 

" As with everything else, a good government commands a 
good price, and the best is the cheapest. But before making 
any expenditure, you must be satisfied that the public good 
really requires it, and then be sure that for every dollar of the 
public money there shall be a proportionate return of public 
benefit. " 

" The instruction of our youth gives us a security and peace 
beyond anything that law or police can give. These are the 
external armor of the body politic. Education is the very 
breath of life. " 

" The education of the people, then, must be the first object 
of public concern ; herein lies the very safety of the Common- 
wealth. ' Salus civitatis est suprema lex. ' " 

" Our coming here does not mean the proscription of any 
class of our fellow-citizen.s. If we may not win enthusiastic 
praise, at least let it be said of us that, during our adminis- 
tration, no man was abridged of his rights, and no harm came 
to the city which we might have averted. " 

Dec. 30, 1881, he delivered a closing address before the 
Board of Aldermen. In regard to harmony, he said he would 
not give a straw for a man who, having any convictions, is 
afraid to stand up for them. He believed in differences, and 

11 



162 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

did not think there was a man in either board with which he 
had served with whom he had not had differences. 

It was during his mayoralty that the death of President 
Garfield occurred. This event called forth the following 
letter to the pupils of the public schools, a copy of which was 
presented to every child : — 

Mayor's Office, Lowell, Mass., Sept. 21, 1881. 
To the Pupils of the Schools of Lowell : 

James Abram Garfield, President of the United States of 
America, departed this life on Monday, the nineteenth day of 
September, 1881. At the time of his death he held the highest 
office in the republic, — the most honored position in the 
world. He was gifted with powers and graces seldom bestowed 
upon the sons of men; and his brief but brilliant life was 
illustrated by his truth, his intelligent strength, and his love 
for mankind. To the heart of youth and early manhood the 
story of the life just brought to an untimely close must forever 
be an example and an inspiration. In whatever station of 
life it pleased God to place him, he walked clothed with the 
majesty of a true man. 

Courage and honor brightened the dark ways of poverty ; 
modesty and simplicity gave a new grace to prosperity and 
greatness. 

In the humblest paths trodden in the days of his toilsome 
youth, in the heroic struggle for the worthy and ennobling 
prizes of life, and in the full splendor of achievement, he 
leaned upon the Almighty Arm. Yes, in the valley of the 
shadow of death, he walked with God. 

Scholars, in James Abram Garfield you have a product of 
our institutions, of our education, our civilization, — a perfect 
type of the citizen of the American Republic. 

In the hall of statues built in the people's heart, Garfield 
stands a fit compeer with Lincoln, Sumner, and Andrew. 

I have said these brief words to you, because it seemed very 
fitting that the memory of so grand and childlike a man should 
be enshrined in the loving hearts of youth and childhood. 

May he rest in peace ! 

Sincerely, Fkederic T. Greenhalge, Mayor. 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 163 

The following speech I insert entire ; it was spoken on 
Decoration Day before the Grand Army of the Eepublic during 
his mayoralty : — 

" Mk. Commandek, Soldieks of Post 42, Ladies and 
Gentlemen, — The rude tablet erected on the graves of the 
Spartans who fell at Thermopylae bore this inscription : 
' Stranger, tell the Lacedcemonians that we lie here in obedi- 
ence to their command. ' Simple, stern, yet pathetic words ! 
The Spartan knew the cold, relentless nature of his country- 
men, and felt that the testimony of some cold and impartial 
stranger was needed to wake their gratitude. But our heroic 
dead, whom we commemorate to-day, need not appeal to any 
stranger to remind us of their patriotic deeds. The memory 
of their services, like the flowers strewn over their graves, 
blooms with added freshness year by year ; and faithful com- 
rades, preserved through the storm of battle, loving children, 
and grateful fellow-citizens, make this annual pilgrimage to 
deck with flowers of May the consecrated earth where 

' Sleep the brave who sink to rest, 
By all their country's wishes blest.' 

" To-day, in pursuance of time-honored custom, the city of the 
dead has been made to shine with a glory that the summer 
cannot give ; for over every soldier's grave, rising above the 
flowers scattered by loving hands, we have seen what we may 
regard as the richest of flowers, nourished and strengthened as it 
is by patriotic blood, — the banner of our redeemed republic. 
And we know, my friends, that were it not for these graves 
and the deeds of the dead who lie there, that banner would not, 
as it does to-day, ' shine like a meteor streaming to the wind, ' 
telling in every land and upon every sea a story of the free- 
dom, the equality, and the brotherhood of man. 

" But there are other graves than those you have honored 
and wept over to-day. It is something to the stricken mourner 
— to the mother, the widow, the orphan — that their beloved 
ones are resting here, — here, where our two bright rivers, our 
Merrimac and Concord, unite their murmurs in a requiem to 
these sleeping warriors, — here, where love and gratitude may 
offer their frequent tribute. Let us not forget to-day the true- 



164 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

hearted men who gave up their lives for their country to lie 
down in nameless and unknown graves. 

" Is this a day of festival or a day of mourning ? Does it 
not partake of the nature of each ? We lament the husband, 
the father, the brother on the field ; but the angel of love and 
patriotism blows a blast of resurrection, heard all over the 
broad land, and our lost warriors rise from their graves to 
mingle with us and to receive the wreaths of honor prepared 
for them by a grateful country. 

" A soldier broken in body, mind, and fortune, applied for 
aid. ' What is your disability ? ' He rolled up his sleeve and 
showed a terrible scar upon an arm shrunk and twisted out of 
shai^e. ' Chancellorsville, ' he said simply. He displayed a 
great wound upon the breast, saying, ' Mechanicsville. ' Each 
wound was an indelible record, — he carried about with him 
his history in a form shorter and clearer than any book. 

" It is pleasing to think that the humblest soldier, with the 
history of his battles written upon his body in scars and 
wounds, can lie down to his eternal sleep and know that with 
every recurring anniversary of this day the muffled drum will 
beat above him, and grateful hands will make his last resting- 
place beautiful with flowers and with the flag for which he 
fought. " 

Mayor Greenhalge spoke, March 3, 1881, at the Y. M. C. A. 
Trade Eeception. The following fragment is taken from his 
speech on that occasion : " If religion should tell anywhere, it 
should tell in the every-day life of the individual ; and as it 
is good to have the spirit of religion in business, so it is good 
to have the method, the scientific arrangement, the character 
and judgment of business in matters of religion." 

One thing that Greenhalge always insisted upon in his 
speeches as the chief part of the statesman's duty was the 
necessity of maintaining the character of the people in its 
integrity and strength. Few statesmen have seemingly seen 
and insisted on this truth. It has been overlooked and put 
aside by many. To some politicians the people are but figures 
to be manipulated, pawns upon the political chessboard to be 
manoeuvred, means by which victory can be organized and 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 165 

party success assured. Material prosperity is in their eyes the 
chief factor iu civilization, — to be maintained at any cost. 
This question strikes at tlie root of our economic theories and 
ideas of government. 

There is an interesting passage in Froude's Life of Lord 
Beaconsfield, in which he speaks of the necessity of maintain- 
ing the character of the English people. Disraeli he claims 
was the only statesman of his time whose constant aim it was 
to uphold and develop it ; and he quotes a curious remark of 
Aristotle, that while aristocracies have always fostered the 
national character, it has heen neglected by democracies, the 
latter seeming to think that character will grow by itself. 
Many statesmen and politicans seem incapable of grasping 
any save abstract ideas. 

Cheapness is not the chief desideratum. It is first necessary 
that the work done should be good ; not scrimped and scanted, 
but performed under the sense of responsibility and conscien- 
tiously. This is a primary and elemental truth; yet it is 
often forgotten. Success is to be won, but never by unfair 
methods. National prosperity should be the just reward of 
the people, and advance hand in hand with the character of 
the people. Whatever tends to undermine that character is 
not to be endured or tolerated, even though wealth flows in its 
train, and power and dominion. The politician may neglect 
this quantity, but the statesman cannot. Greenhalge always 
appreciated and upheld the necessity of character; it was a 
basic principle with him, —the foundation of all good govern- 
ment, the source of strength, the nucleus round which all the 
attributes of power cluster. 

Napoleon understood the volatile nature of the French, and 
undermined their character still more to suit his own selfish 
ends. By his victories he overcame the conscience of his sub- 
jects, until he rendered them incapable of self-government. 
He m.ade them the tools of his ambition, and the mighty fabric 
he reared fell into the dust. The character of the British 
people, on the contrary, during all their immense struggle with 
the Imperial Corsican, continued to develop and strengthen. 
It emerged from the conflict with glorious pride and power. 

Greenhalge said, in a quotation already given, that the 



166 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

standard of public men should be raised to correspond with 
the higher standards of the people. He himself will always 
be found supporting the men of highest character as he under- 
stood them. If other men than those whose claims he advo- 
cated prevailed in the political conventions of his party, he 
bowed to the popular will, — and it is right to do so, except 
in extreme cases, for it will often be found that the decision 
of the people vindicates itself, and the course of events justi- 
fies their action ; even if the choice of the people or party is 
not the best that it would have been possible to make, a middle 
course must often be taken in public affairs. 

Greenhalge, however, was of the opinion that civilization, 
good government, and the true grandeur of nations were not 
merely questions of statistics and numbers, nor of political 
tactics and strategy, nor even of cheap production, national 
expansion, and party triumph, but matters chieHy of bone, 
sinew, and brains, of blood and iron in the human character, 
and the light of a free intelligence shining in the spirit of 
man. 

He always joined himself with the best element of his party ; 
their candidate was primarily his candidate. In 1876 he 
supported Benjamin Bristow as candidate for President, and 
formed a Bristow Club in Lowell. At a meeting in Lowell 
held for the formation of the club, he said : " AVe want men 
in position and as party representatives who will give their 
highest and best thoughts alike for the interest of country and 
of party. Bristow commands the respect of all for his honesty, 
ability, dauntlessness, and incorruptibility. " 

In 1884 he was an Edmunds delegate at the Chicago con- 
vention when Blaine was nominated on the fourth ballot. 
Blaine, the popular candidate, carried all before him at the 
convention; but the election of Cleveland justified the opposi- 
tion of those who held that success could not be achieved under 
the standard of Blaine, — that, notwithstanding his great 
ability, he would not carry the people with him. Blaine's 
political escutcheon was tarnished in the opinion of many; 
suspicion was attached to his name, and his defeat was assured. 
Nothing of this appeared, however, at the convention, and the 
utmost enthusiasm prevailed for the plumed knight of Maine. 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 167 

Greenhalge's private feelings during the time the meetings 

were being held are apparent from the following letters written 

home to his family. They express the dislike he felt for some 

of the conditions of political life, for its noisy and vulgar 

side. 

Chicago, June 4, 1884. 

I got through the first day of the convention tolerably. I 

don't like the business at all. A pandemonium without the 

least necessity, — all for show and humbug. We carried our 

vote, defeating Clayton for temporary chairman. The Blaine 

men were surprised. I shall take no part — that is, public 

part — in the convention ; it is not in my line. If I were 

directed to present somebody, I could do it ; but Governor Long 

and Senator Hoar are to do that sort of thing. I yearn for my 

dear ones, • — we never fully value our home when there. I 

am not made for a politician ; I don't fancy Chicago, and don't 

see how anybody can — except the people who like to go to 

sleep to brass bands. 

Chicago, June 6, 1884. 

I hope and trust I shall not be under the necessity of com- 
municating by letter more than once again. We are going in 
the morning to begin balloting. I went to bed this morning 
at about three, the convention holding till about two A. M. 
The speeches were made last night, Long making an incompa- 
rable speech for Edmunds, and Curtis a fine one, but not equal 
to Long's. The people about here were silenced and charmed 
by the Edmunds oratory, and are compelled to respect our 
position. But of all ridiculous performances the " demonstra- 
tions " for Blaine and Arthur v/ere entitled to the palm. Grown- 
up men acting like lunatics, carrying about a helmet, a " floral 
tribute, " to Blaine, — and men, women, and boys screeching in 
a maniacal manner during the progress. And these are the 
kind of people who are to name the Chief Magistrate ! God 

save the republic! I offered A , one of the Blaine men 

of our delegation, $2 to put on the helmet and march round the 
hall, but he declined. Well, well ! I am anxious to finish 
and get home. 

A friend of Greenhalge's relates the following incident, 
which occurred in the early days of his political career. 



168 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Show and pretence were always odious to him ; he was no moral 
babbler, but of incorruptible integrity. The story shows, 
moreover, that his power of oratory and sarcasm made him 
feared at an early date by political makeshifts, and that he 
was already a person to be conciliated. 

" A trait in Greenhalge's character which has fixed itself in 
my mind was an almost morbid dread of seeming to be better 
than he was. He had no religion, no goodness, to speak of. 
His ideal of what a good man ought to be was so very high, 
his consciousness that he was far below his ideal was so very 
keen, that his attainments seemed to him not worth the men- 
tioning; he felt he had nothing to boast of; that he had an 
honest and sincere love of goodness, and an earnest desire to 
be a good man shows itself in his whole life, is written into 
every line of poetry and into almost every letter he ever wrote. 
Such a spirit as he had was the spirit of true Christian 
humility. It was the same which led St. Paul to class 
himself among the chief of sinners. It is the feeling that has 
been at the foundation of the character of every sincere and 
honest man the world over; this trait of character is well 
illustrated by an incident that I have retained in my memory 
since the days when we were both practising law in the old 
Mansur Block. A certain prominent citizen of Lowell was 
before the public as a candidate for a high office. He was an 
unscrupulous man, and through his agents was subsidizing 
votes right and left. Greenhalge opposed his candidacy, and 
issued a pamphlet which was in the richest vein of that satire 
and sarcasm which no one knew better how to use than Green- 
halge did when occasion presented. This pamphlet did much 
harm to the cause of our candidate. It became necessary to 
silence this battery. Greenhalge was approached, and the bribe 
was offered. In telling me the circumstances afterwards, I 
said to him, ' Well, what did you say to him ? Did you not 
kick him out of your office ? ' ' Oh, no, ' he said ; ' I told him 
his bribe was not big enough. ' ' Why, ' I replied indignantly, 
' did you say that ? You know perfectly well that no bribe 
could buy you. ' ' Yes, '. he said, ' I know that, but that 
answer was the only one that man could understand. ' This 
was always his way ; he was no man for moral heroics. He 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 169 

did the right thing. He stood on the highest platform of 
righteousness, but he did not care to cry aloud to the populace, 
* Look, see me here ! ' He was no man to pose. " 

In 1884 Greenhalge was elected to the Massachusetts House 
of Eepresentatives. He distinguished himself there as much 
as he afterwards did in Congress, though in a narrower sphere. 
He soon acquired the reputation of being the best debater in 
the House, and gained the respect and consideration of its 
members by his judgment and the sterling nature of his mind. 
He supported the bill in favor of Biennial Election, introduced 
in that session of the Legislature, Feb. 18, 1885 ; in a speech 
in support of the bill, he said : " I am sorry to see gentlemen 
here who have fallen under the ban of the antiquarian feelings, 
who cherish and cling to anything old, and can't bear to give 
it up because it is old. The traditions of Massachusetts are 
sacred, but they do not apply to the future ; that calls for prog- 
ress, and in progress in this direction Massachusetts is far 
behind the rest of the States. " 

He also opposed the granting of pensions to the judges of the 
Supreme Court. In his speech in opposition to the bill, he 
said that he opposed the amendment and the bill itself as con- 
trary to the principles of our government, that it would be 
better to pay them larger salaries while in office, and that he 
believed the bill was hostile to the spirit of our institutions. 

He also, while in the Legislature, favored the abolition of 
the poll-tax prerequisite for suffrage. He would retain, he 
said, all the safeguards necessary for the protection of the 
ballot-box, the educational qualifications should be insisted on ; 
he would trust the people, and believed that as a measure of 
justice and expediency the resolve should pass. 

A committee to investigate the finances of the House being 
appointed, Greenhalge was made chairman of it, because " he 
is a strong, able man, and has the confidence of the House. " 
He was also chairman of the committee on mercantile affairs. 

Upon a discussion by the House of the bill to reduce the 
rentals of telephones, Greenhalge spoke and characterized the 
bill as careless and reckless. He considered it was more dan- 
gerous to the right of self-government than any other bill of 



170 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

the session. The House afterwards rejected the bill by a large 
majority. 

A bill to exempt sailors and soldiers from the operation of 
the civil-service laws was defeated in the Legislature during 
this session. 

The Legislature remained in session one hundred and sixty- 
two days, at that time the longest term with one exception 
since 1874. Though a new member, Greenhalge rapidly came 
to the front. In many points the resemblance is striking to his 
term in Congress. In both cases it was remarkable that a new 
member should acquire such influence and renown. In both 
cases defeat came to cut short a brilliant career, — defeat most 
unmerited and most unexpected. The reason was in both 
nearly the same. Greenhalge did not make selfish and personal 
efforts to gain his re-election. He did not seek the office, and 
the office which should have sought him fell to other hands. 
In a letter to the " Lowell Mail," dated Oct. 31, 1885, Green- 
halge said, in response to an item in the local column : " You 
say Greenhalge refuses to lift a finger for himself. In a certain 
sense this is true. A free, spontaneous election by the people 
is the noblest tribute a man can receive. An election obtained 
by purchase, by bargaining, by log-rolling, is not worth hav- 
ing. I desire an election by the people, fairly obtained, and 
not otherwise. " 

After his defeat the " Boston Advertiser " said : " Green- 
halge's course was very dignified; he showed little interest 
in his election, having been in Boston nearly all day and not 
making any efforts to get votes. " 

In Greenhalge 's ward there was a tie vote ; but upon a re- 
count Mr. Shaw proved to be elected by one vote. As usual, 
Greenhalge bore his defeat with equanimity; he was no poli- 
tician, and could not feel as one. The disappointment was 
general, however. 

The " Boston Herald " said at the time : " It is not an encour- 
aging symptom when so good a legislator as Greenhalge is 
defeated because he declined to work for his own re-election. 
Greenhalge made an admirable record in the last House. He 
was a man of sound judgment, gave close attention to his 
duties, was active in aiding good legislation, and was the best 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 171 

debater in that body. These qualities should have secured 
him a support that would have been an honor to the people he 
represented. Conscious that he had done his duty, he relied 
upon his constituency to do him justice by showing their 
appreciation of his services. There are people who believe 
that the office should seek the man rather than the man the 
office. They are old-fashioned people in our days. " 

The " Lowell Courier " said : " The result is to be regretted. 
Mr. Greenhalge would have been a leading man on the floor of 
the House. His remarkable talents and his experience would 
have been invaluable, both to his local constituency and to 
the Commonwealth. " 

The " Fall .River News " said : " Honest, considerate, and 
fearless, he won the respect of both parties, and acquired an 
influence second to none in that body. To set aside such men 
for others of no particular qualifications reflects little credit 
on the intelligence and good judgment of any constituency. 
The State will suffer rather than Mr. Greenhalge; he has a 
future, and will be heard from. " 

These opinions the people and the press everywhere seconded. 
A prophet is sometimes without honor in his own country, 
and at this time small justice was done to Greenhalge by the 
voters of Lowell. 

The following lines formed part of a poem read before the 
House by a member, on the closing day of the session, June 
19, 1885, which was printed by request of the House: — 

" When Greenhalge mingles in debate 

Which others oft prolong, 
His logic, like a mighty stream, 

Flows calm and deep and strong. 
To listening ears his eloquence 

Gives ever fresh delight, 
While keenest wit illumee his theme 

As lightning's flash the night. 

" O statesman, blest with rarest powers 

To move the listening throng, 
Be thine the work to aid the right, 

And aye condemn the wrong. 
Defend the weak, the fallen raise, 

The bold oppressor smite ; 
And e'er contend, like knights of old, 

For justice, truth, and right." 



172 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

These verses were an exceptional tribute to Greenhalge, 
and well express the position to which he had risen in the 
estimation of the House. 

After his defeat, it was said that his friends would seek 
revenge, and that the party might suffer. This rumor called 
forth the following letter from Greenhalge : — 

Saturday, Dec. 5, 1885. 

Editor of the " Mail," — I do not believe that any friend 
of mine will oppose, or in any way abate, his efforts for the 
Eepublican party, from any feeling of bitterness on my account. 
The coming election I consider of the most vital importance to 
the people of Lowell, and the continuance of the present gov- 
ernment in office is of the greatest importance to every lover of 
honest and economical administration. I write this on account 
of a paragraph in the " Boston Advertiser " of to-day, referring 
to the possible action of my friends, which I think without 
foundation. I certainly have not the slightest sympathy with 
such sentiments, nor have any of my friends that I know of. 

Feb. 8, 1886, Greenhalge spoke at the Middlesex Club in 
Boston upon the question, " Shall the poll-tax be a condition 
of suffrage ? " He said : " The theory of our government rests 
upon the equality of man. Each man, by virtue of his man- 
hood, is to contribute to the maintenance of the government, 
and to receive his just share of its benefits. The property 
qualification is an incongruity. . . . Let us have the courage 
to put in practice the theory of popular government in every 
way and under all circumstances. The theory has been tried 
by the fire of rebellion, by the most appalling political crises, 
and it stands to-day more beautiful than ever. Let us erase 
from our book of laws a principle which is unjust, unwise, 
unstatesmanlike, and unrepublican. " 

After the speech there was much talk of Greenhalge as a 
candidate for the ol^ce of Lieutenant-Governor of Massachu- 
setts. It was a premonition of what was to be later. The 
talk called forth many expressions of approval. The " Lowell 
Weekly Sun, " a Democratic paper, said : " Mr. Greenhalge 
would be a good man for the Eepublicans to have on their 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 173 

ticket, and a bad opponent for the Democratic nominee. The 
democratic and honorable doings of Mr. Greenhalge while 
Mayor of Lowell, and also while in the State Legislature, have 
been gratefully remembered by Democrats all over the State, 
and many of them would be glad to vote for him for any office 
to which he might aspire. " Many Democrats afterwards did 
vote for him for the higher office of Governor of the State. 
There was always a predilection for Greenhalge in the Demo- 
cratic party. 

Urged to be a candidate at this time in opposition to Con- 
gressman Allen, Greenhalge replied : " I decline to entertain 
the idea for two reasons : the first, that I should be disloyal to 
my party and to the principle of fairness if I entered the field 
against Mr. Allen ; and the second, for considerations of a 
purely personal nature. I say now, what I said two years ago, 
that I am not prepared, no matter what my ambition may be, 
to abandon entirely my profession for a political life. " 

Oct. 20, 1886, Greenhalge wrote to the chairman of the 
Eepublican City Committee the following letter, after receiving 
some votes in the Middlesex County Senatorial Convention : 

Dear Sir, — I supposed that I had made it clear that I 
could not, under any circumstances, become a candidate for any 
political office at this time. I owe a duty to those who have 
confided their interests to me, and that duty has too long been 
subordinated to public duties. . . . 

I consider Mr. entitled to hearty support in his can- 
didature for the Senate, and I trust that his election will be a 
further proof that the Eepublican party in Lowell is once more 
a unit, and that while 

" Their ranks may be thousands, 
Their hearts are as one." 

Speaking, April 28, 1887, before the Catholic Union on 
" Government by the People, " Greenhalge said : " You can 
have no national virtue without individual virtue. It mat- 
ters little if the Legislature is bribed, or the City Council 
corrupted, if the masses of the people remain true to vir- 
tue, honesty, and religion. " 



174 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Sept. 28, 1887, at the Eepublican State Convention, Mr. 
Greenhalge was pushed by his friends as a candidate for 
Attorney -General. The " Lowell Citizen " said, next day : 
" That Mr. Greenhalge should receive one hundred and thirty- 
two votes on the informal ballot, and mainly due to the esteem 
of many personal and political friends, is an outcome of the 
short Lowell campaign for the Attorney-Generalship that 
should be appreciated at its full worth; and the reception 
accorded Greenhalge at the Tremont House during forenoon 
hours preceding the session of the convention was specially 
significant, as it bears upon the future. " 

This vote was almost purely a personal compliment. The 
work done by his friends was little, and covered a brief inter- 
val. The movement was not in the nature of a machine boom, 
and the result was very gratifying. Greenhalge considered 
it a mark of personal esteem. He had not sought the position 
himself, as indeed all through his career it is clear that he did 
not seek political preferment. His popularity, however, was 
steadily growing, and his friends were many and irrepressible. 

His name was prominently mentioned at this time 'also for 
Overseer of Harvard College, and as the successor of Judge 
Bacon on the Bench. 

Oct. 8, 1887, he delivered an address at Melrose under the 
auspices of the Melrose Eepublican Club. Speaking of the 
party, he said : " We may say further, it is a progressive party. 
But the spirit of progress is tempered and controlled by a 
warm conservatism. Conservatism is the foundation ; prog- 
ress is the superstructure. We do not want a building to be 
all foundation, we do not want it to be all superstructure ; we 
require a just proportion of each. " 

There had long been an earnest desire on the part of the 
Eepublicans of the Eighth Massachustts District, in which the 
city of Lowell is comprised, to send Greenhalge to Congress. 
His candidature had been sought in former elections, but, as 
we have seen, he had refused to allow his name to be used as a 
candidate. Colonel Allen, who had served two terms in 
Congress, declined at this time to enter the campaign for re- 
election. The Eepublican party at once turned to Green- 
halge, and the pressure brought to bear upon him was very 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 175 

great. He had always been indifferent to public office, and 
foreboded the change in the habits of his life that would come 
should he be elected to Congress. 

The following letter well illustrates the state of his mind at 
this time in regard to his candidature : — 

Lowell, Sept. 3, 1888. 

I send you a paper to show the " movements " in political 
fields. I hardly know what to say or to do. I drift, as it 
were. Yet, upon the whole, I am inclined to think it may be 
an opportunity. It has danced before my eyes for four years, 
and has found me adamant. It comes again; must I reject it 
the third time ? You know how much I care for you and 
the darlings, but must I show lack of courage, of hope, of 
ambition ? It is a trial to me. I know what it means, — the 
hardships, the cares, the worries ; but for Heaven's sake 
what are we made of, and what are we made for? 

This time, however, there was to be no refusal. The 
demand for his services was too great to be resisted. The 
following petition was circulated throughout the district, and 
obtained the signatures of a very large number of voters, repre- 
senting many of the most prominent citizens and politicians : 

Lowell, Sept. 1, 1888. 
Hon. F. T. Greenhalge. 

Dear Sir, — A declination by the Hon. Charles H. Allen, 
Congressman from this district, to longer remain in public 
life after the completion of his present term, leaves a vacancy 
in our Congressional seat for the Fifty-first Congress, which 
the interests of this industrial constituency demand shall be 
filled by a successor who will maintain the high reputation 
of its representation in past years, and who can render 
such services as the importance of so large a manufacturing 
community must of necessity require in the halls of national 
legislation. 

While conceding to Congressman Allen a measure of suc- 
cess which is not surpassed by his predecessors, we are mindful 
of the fact that the district is constantly growing, its varied 
enterprises are constantly multiplying, and the duties and 



176 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

responsibilities of the office of its representative at Washington 
are likewise increasing in the same ratio, calling for a higher 
degree of effort on the part of its incumbent, and necessitating 
closer attention to all the innumerable details that comprise 
the round of a Congressman's vocation. In this emergency 
the undersigned, Eepublicans of the district, respectfully ask 
that you will permit the use of your name for the succession 
to Colonel Allen in the approaching convention, assuring you 
of our hearty and unremitting support in the canvass, and of 
a complete and gratifying success at the polls. 

Greenhalge replied to the letter as follows : — 

Gentlemen, — I am not regarded as an eager or inveterate 
seeker of public office. I am told that it is folly, in these 
busy, practical times, to expect the office to seek the man. 
Yet my purpose is, and has been for many years, to wait until 
the voice of the people calls me to public duty ; if that voice 
is not raised in my behalf, I am, and always shall be, content. 
I have plenty of opportunity for labor in many fields, and I 
have never been out of employment. Still maintaining these 
opinions, I am required to answer your request. I cannot be 
insensible to the honor which you do me. A nomination, an 
office, tendered in such a manner, is the true gold of political 
life. Coming, my friends, from the heart, I shall accept your 
kindness from and with the heart. If the Eepublicans of 
the Eighth Congressional District desire me to take up (as well 
as I may) the brilliant record of Allen (too suddenly inter- 
rupted), they shall have my name, my hand, my voice, my 
heart. I rejoice at the prospect of defending our State, our 
district, our industrial system, our people, before the country. 
If I am nominated, gentlemen, the cause and the campaign of 
Harrison and Morton, protection and prosperity, shall have an 
earnest laborer in myself. 

I am, gentlemen, your faithful servant, 

Fredekic T. Geeenhalge. 

Lowell, Sept. 7, 1888. 

The satisfaction his acceptance gave was general, and many 
expressions of approval appeared in the daily press. The 



MAYOR OF LOWELL. 177 

following is from the " Lowell Mail " : " His personal character 
and his splendid abilities will make him at once an iniluence 
in the Massachusetts delegation, and his election will therefore 
not only maintain the reputation at Washington of the Eighth 
District, but it will also serve to perpetuate the influence in 
Congress of the Massachusetts delegation. " 

To a letter inquiring his view on the tariff, he replied : " I 
stand firmly upon the Eepublican platform on each and every 
issue before the country to-day. " 

The Eepublican State Convention was held that year in 
Tremout Temple, Boston, on September 12. Greenhalge pre- 
sented the name of William F. Draper, of Hopedale, as a can- 
didate for Governor. In his speech before the convention he 
said, in regard to the qualifications which the Eepublican party 
demand should be possessed by their candidate for Governor : 
" They require that, in the first place, he should be a typical 
Eepublican. They desire, in the second place, that he should 
be a man of high, clear, moral purity, for Massachusetts de- 
mands high moral character in her public men. They desire, 
also, that he should be of scholarly tastes, with nothing of the 
schoolroom or the pedant about him. They desire, further- 
more, that he should have a worthy political record. " 

The Eighth District Eepublican Congressional Convention 
was held in Jackson Hall, Lowell, Sept. 26, 1888. Green- 
halge was nominated by acclamation. He began his speech of 
acceptance as follows : " I thank the people of my own city 
of Lowell for their cordial, I may say enthusiastic, support. 
Their approval is a mark of honor beyond the glittering dis- 
tinctions of office. May I live and die in such a way that 
I may keep their regard. " 

During the ensuing campaign Greenhalge devoted his ener- 
gies entirely to the interest of the party and the duties of his 
position. He spoke nearly every night with good effect. 

In an address before the Boys in Blue in Lowell, he said: 
" We prefer to sell our goods to our own people, and we should 
strive to perfect our own local industries, so that, were it 
required, we could build a locomotive or rig an 80-ton gun and 
not have to send away anywhere for any of the appliances. 
We should strive to forward and help our own people and 

12 



178 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

industries, so that in time we could in every respect challenge 
the world. " 

In a speech at Lowell, October 4, he said : " We have what 
may be called, and what seems to us, an unexampled pros- 
perity. As we hear the song of the mills, the sound of the 
engine, the ringing of the anvils, it seems that we have the 
right to believe, and I believe it right to believe, that Lowell 
is one of the richest jewels in that diadem of prosperous cities 
with which the genius of our industrial system has crowned 
the brow of America. " 

The result of the canvass was the election of Greenhalge by 
a plurality of three thousand. A Kepublican jubilee meeting 
was held in Lowell, at which Greenhalge spoke ; he referred to 
his prediction, at the first meeting to ratify the nomination of 
Harrison and Morton, that the country would make a President 
of " Ben Harrison. " The prediction had been verified. He re- 
turned thanks not for a personal victory, but for a Eepublican 
triumph all over the country. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

CONGKESSIONAL CAEEEE. 

DuEiNG the months that intervened between the election of 
Greenhalge and his taking his seat in Congress, he delivered 
several speeches of note. 

November 22 a joint debate took place at Harvard College 
between Greenhalge and Col. T. W. Higginson, the subject of 
which was " Lessons of the Campaign. " 

November 27, at the Eepublican City Convention to nomi- 
nate a candidate for Mayor, he spoke at length. He said: 
" The great national contest which has just ended, and the 
glorious and shining results spread before us, is of no conse- 
quence to us unless our local self-government is attended to. 
The government of your own fireside, your own home, and your 
own city is of as much importance as the government of your 
State and nation ; for it is here you are to build up the nation. " 

Feb. 15, 1889, Greenhalge spoke at the annual meeting 
of the Garfield Club at Pawtucket, PJiode Island. His subject 
was, " The Position of the Political Parties. " In his speech he 
said : " You remember it was the little mound and rail fence 
built upon Bunker Hill by Prescott and Putnam that enabled 
them to protect their freedom and liberties against the attacks 
of the British. So it is this little rail of protection that en- 
ables you to guard your industrial freedom against the attacks 
of the world. " 

June 28 he was made chairman of a meeting in Boston the 
purpose of which was to advance the interests of Lieutenant- 
Governor Brackett in regard to the Governorship. Mr. Brackett 
was finally nominated by the Republicans ; and in the ensuing 
campaign Greenhalge, as usual, took a very prominent part. 



180 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENE ALGE. 

October 15 he spoke at a ratification meeting in Music Hall. 
In the course of his speech he said : " The Republican party is 
a party of practical purposes. It is not a party of chimera or 
of theories ; it is a party of action, of achievement. Never in 
peace or war, in adversity or prosperity, in defeat or victory, 
never under any circumstances did that party despair of the 
republic. . . . That same invincible courage and spirit, that 
same practical purpose, will still guide us on to grander tri- 
umphs than we ever won in the past. " 

October 24, at Fall River, he said : " Scientific school men 
tell us we are not philanthropists, but I say that we have 
taught the world, from our men in Fall River and Lowell, 
what the true standard of living is. Every workingman in 
Germany, France, Belgium, and Great Britain is watching the 
American workingman, and the result is that every steamer 
coming to our shores brings hundreds of working-people who 
come to us and ask for a share of the blessings to be had under 
the Stars and Stripes. " 

Demosthenes used to compare eloquence to a weapon. It is 
necessary to possess also the skill to use it. The partisan 
speeches of Greenhalge show with what art he employed it. 
They always told ; they never failed to produce the effect 
intended. Greenhalge did not belong to a class of orators of 
which " Single-Speech Hamilton " is a type. The stream of 
his oratory was abundant. Bolingbroke has said : " Eloquence 
has charms to lead mankind, and gives nobler superiority than 
power, that every dunce may use, or fraud, that every knave 
may employ. But eloquence must flow like a stream that is 
fed from an abundant spring, and not spout forth like a frothy 
water on some gaudy day and remain dry the rest of the year. " 

The oratory of Greenhalge was indeed a weapon that shone in 
almost constant use. He almost carried out the precept of 
Correggio, — " No day without a line. " This was especially 
so in later years. It became a matter for expostulation and 
grief on the part of his friends that he should feel himself 
bound to respond to so many demands upon his strength. To 
Greenhalge, on the contrary, the exercise of his talent gave 
delight. He enjoyed his work. In the opinion of the author 
it never was a labor that he could not have supported easily as 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 181 

long as his health remained unimpaired by disease. After 
all, it is considered shameful in a captain to spare himself in 
the prosecution of his tasks. If life is a battle, should the 
contest be shirked by any one ? Should not all our energies 
be used to the utmost, — whether the instrument we use is 
tongue, or sword, or pen ? 

The voice of Greenhalge was now to be heard in the halls 
of Congress. He soon acquired a brilliant reputation at the 
Capitol. 

It is not the intention of the author to write the history of 
the Fifty-first Congress. Its record is written in the memory 
of the American people. Only a few years have elapsed since 
it was in session. Though it has passed from the stage of 
public affairs, it is still a powerful factor in the politics of 
our country. The full results of its deliberations have not yet 
been reached. It is still living and vital in the spirit that 
animated it, — the spirit of Republicanism that has survived 
defeat and opprobrium, which is dominant and triumphant 
to-day, and seems destined to rule the people and government 
of our country for years to come. 

It was a great Congress, aggressive and determined. Even 
its enemies will confess as much. It was also patriotic and 
American, and adopted no half measures where the interest and 
prosperity of the nation were concerned. It was rewarded by 
obloquy and defeat; it was misunderstood, reviled, and for- 
saken. The support it should have had from the people was 
withdrawn, and it saw itself supplanted by a party eager to 
undo the work it had accomplished. 

The power and effect of a shibboleth were never before so 
plainly disclosed in the political world as they were in the case 
of the Fifty-first Congress. The Tariff Bill, not then put to 
proof, which events have seemed to justify, became a term of re- 
proach and reproof in the mouths of the people for whose benefit 
it was framed. It came to have the sound of a condemnation. 
In reality it lost all meaning, and became a mere shibboleth. 
It resulted in a stampede, a blind movement of the people in 
opposition. A campaign of exaggeration and abuse was inau- 
gurated. The Democratic politicians were skilful, and the result 
was a conjurer's trick in which the people played the part of 



182 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

gulls. Such at least is the stalwart Eepublican view, in 
which, no doubt, Greenhalge shared, as his Republicanism 
needed no brace. In reality these destructive and overwhelm- 
ing movements of the people are common enough in politics. 
Public opinion, like a vast pendulum, vibrates between ex- 
tremes when unstable conditions exist, and settles at last 
usually in some middle place. The Eepublican party to-day 
is reaping the full benefit of the reaction, and it rests with that 
party to keep the public favor it has recovered. 

The Democratic party, like the old classic race of fable, 
seemed to hasten on its own destruction. It encountered its 
share of very stormy financial weather, and the disturbance in 
the business world reacted on the party itself. Yet by its 
own acts it lost the confidence of the people with unexampled 
rapidity. The country, sunk in the depths of despondency over 
the business depression, — a depression unexampled in modern 
times, — distraught with financial panic and long-continued 
distress, sought in vain for any help from the Democratic 
party. In Congress it undid all the work of its predecessor in 
power, but it built nothing on its own account. It justified 
to some extent its reputation as the party of destruction, but 
not of construction. It tore down, but it could not rebuild. 
It showed incompetency, schism, and heterodoxy in its own 
councils. It showed that the strange jumble of ignorance and 
quack nostrums, financial heresies and political juggleries 
which prevail to some extent in all parties, formed a much 
larger share of the Democratic organization. These develop 
with astonishing rapidity in the untutored American mind, 
fertile and full of devices, inventive as the American mind is 
ever. 

There are labor heresies and silver heresies and political 
nostrums of all sorts. They spring up in the political world 
without number, just as creeds do in the world of religion. 

America has become the great mother of creeds and forms of 
worship. So it has of political creeds and propaganda. The 
large hopefulness of the American character has made it credu- 
lous, as if with all these large results of time, with all these 
accomplished marvels of science and commerce, there was 
nothing impossible. This credulity is a spirit of mischief 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 183 

coutiniially attacking the established order and ancient 
methods. " Lath-swords and scissors of destiny, Pickle her- 
ring and the three Parcoe alike busy in it. " 

Human development moves along old and established lines 
of thought. Its great current continues for ages in the same 
channel. Such credulous theories are the mere froth upon its 
surface ; being surface aspects, they are very evident, and 
conceal to some extent the great tides below. 

They are not perhaps as serious in their import as they seem 
to be. They cannot prevail against natural laws, yet they 
are the source of continual disturbance. The Republican 
party seems at the present time to be most free from their 
influence. It is less bewildered by the disturbance in the 
political magnetic needle which is due to their action. It 
keeps a steadier course. The American people, it is evident, 
desire its guidance in the immediate future. 

The great leaders of the Fifty-first Congress, Eeed and 
McKinley, are to-day the foremost men in the country. They 
have heard their names reviled by the people ; they have seen 
their far-reaching plans overturned, and have suffered the 
spurns of fortune ; yet in so short a time the people have come 
to stand with them and for them in the great conflict of parties. 
These two men have come to be almost like an embodiment of 
the Fifty-first Congress. It has passed from the stage of the 
world, yet it still lives in the minds of the people in the per- 
sons of these two men. They are its great representatives as 
they were its great actors. Round them its memories cluster, 
and on them, in some measure, its power devolves. 

Of these two. Reed seems to possess the most powerful na- 
ture, and McKinley the most ingratiating personality. Reed 
is sturdy and honest, and possesses a virile intellect. He is 
the favorite son of New England, and his character and intel- 
lectual force aroused the admiration of Greenhalge. There was 
an affinity between them, — the bond of character and force. 
The strength of Reed expresses itself visibly in his face and 
form ; he is the picture of concentrated force. As Speaker of 
the House, he exhibited to the world the power of his indi- 
viduality. He is indomitable, intrepid, and inflexible. To 
Greenhalge he represented more than any other the Fifty-first 



184 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Congress, — that Congress which he admired, and in the con- 
flicts of which he shared. " All of which he saw, and part of 
which he was. " 

Greenhalge took his seat in Congress on the second day of 
December, 18S9. He occupied a seat in the second row on 
the right of the Speaker, and next to the venerable General 
Banks. He was fortunate in being appointed a member of 
three influential committees, — the Civil Service Committee, 
the Committee on Elections, and the Committee on Eevision of 
the Laws. 

It will not be out of place to sketch slightly and generally 
the task that lay before the Congress, and the work accom- 
plished by it. That body was almost immediately involved in 
a bitter conflict over the new code introduced by the Committee 
on Eules. It was designed to carry out the policy of the 
Speaker in refusing to entertain dilatory motions, and in 
counting a quorum by recording members present but not 
voting. 

The minority were indignant over the innovations and there 
were many disorderly scenes. 

The Republicans claimed that the constitutional convention 
had clearly in mind the idea that the presence only of a ma- 
jority was necessary to make a quorum, and quoted as a prece- 
dent the English Parliament. 

The Democrats retorted by citing the action of Blaine while 
Speaker, when solicited to enforce the view contemplated by 
this rule for counting a quorum. February 14 the new rules 
were, however, adopted by the House. Their enforcement 
drew down much animadversion upon the Speaker, and he 
came to be designated as dictator by the Democrats. His 
calmness and determination made him famous in the Eepub- 
lican party, and he stands to-day in that party as a type of 
force. 

April 16, 1890, the renowned Tariff Bill was introduced by 
William McKinley, of Ohio. This bill, which came to be 
known as the McKinley Bill, made McKinley the best-known 
man in the country, — the most denounced person in America 
by the Democrats and Mugwumps, and the most honored by 
the Eepublicans. It became the war-cry of the Democrats, — 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 185 

a cry which caused the defeat of the Eepublican party. Per- 
haps the Eepublicans themselves would not adopt so strong a 
measure to-day, yet events have fully justified the principle of 
protection which it carried into effect; it made McKinley 
President of the United States. After long debates and con- 
ferences with the Senate, many amendments and revisions, the 
bill was adopted July 12, 1890, and approved by the Presi- 
dent July 14. Unreason and misrepresentation did their work 
in the end, and the revulsion of feeling that followed reversed 
the action of Congress, and the country reverted to the Demo- 
cratic party and its policy of free trade. The result was disas- 
trous to the business of the nation. The period of depression 
that followed was unprecedented. Ultimately the sun of 
Eepublicanism, which seemed to be for a time eclipsed or 
extinguished, shone out with increased brilliancy, and became 
the guiding star of the nation. There never was before such 
a swift repentance on the part of the people, — so complete a 
justification of any party by the stern logic of events. 

Two new States were admitted to the Union during this 
Congress, — Idaho and "Wyoming. 

A bill was passed controlling Trusts and Combinations. 
The " Original Package Bill " became a law August 8 ; the 
Federal Election Bill was introduced in the first session of 
Congress, and finally defeated in the second session ; this bill 
rivalled the Tariff Bill in the bitter party strife it evoked. 
Congress passed the International Copyright Bill December 
3, 1890. 

One of the most discussed measures was that " to provide 
against a contraction of the currency, " or free-coinage bill. It 
was brought up in the Senate, December 20, 1890 ; after being 
amended in various ways in the Senate, it was finally defeated 
in the House. 

No question before the country to-day is as ominous as the 
silver question. Selfish considerations and crude and faulty 
logic are at the bottom of it. It strikes at the root of the 
financial credit of the country. The mercantile and business 
world is shaken by its continued discussion. In this question 
" Pickle herring and the three Parcfe " are indeed busy. These 
will-o'-the-wisp theories have a strange fascination for the 



186 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

American people, many of whom seem to be, even in the 
nineteenth century, Fifth-Monarchy men and Millennium 
seekers, particularly in the West, which has seen so many 
marvels that the marvellous passes current with ease. 

The epitaph of all these silver bills, as they come up to 
meet, let us hope, speedy defeat, should be always the 
same. Cupidity, credulity, and incompetency express all 
there is in them. The one in question was sent down from 
the " crazy Senate, " as Greenhalge described it. In the discus- 
sion of these bills, Greenhalge took but small part. He gained 
his reputation in Congress during the debates on the election 
cases. His selection as a member of the Committee on Elec- 
tions was a fortunate choice, both for himself and the Repub- 
licans. It was an important committee, more important than 
usual in this Congress ; it immediately entered upon a wide 
sphere of action. There was a large number of contested elec- 
tion cases before the House. 

In the debates that ensued, Greenhalge drew the attention of 
the whole assembly upon himself at a time of intense interest 
and in the midst of a fierce party struggle. It was perhaps 
the acme of his career ; he proved himself to be the right man 
in the right place ; could he have continued in Congress for a 
few years longer, what might he not have become ? He was 
pre-eminently fitted for the place he held. He had not been 
taught politics at his father's knee, as Pitt was said to have 
been, but nature had given him the talent of a great debater. 
He made, perhaps, as great a success as any new member that 
ever sat in Congress. New members are usually silent. 
Congress is a formidable audience for any speaker who is not 
accustomed to address it. To gain its favor is usually a task 
of years ; by his first speech Greenhalge succeeded in winning 
its applause. His power of sarcasm and keen wit captivated 
his hearers; his logic and legal lore gave weight to his words; 
his invective made him formidable, and his eloquence found 
an appreciative audience in that House, which is frequently 
bored with tedious displays of oratory. 

His readiness was equal to the swift emergencies of public 
debates. He made himself famous in the Congress, and mem- 
bers flocked to hear him. His success was no surprise to his 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER, 187 

friends. It was exactly what they expected ; all who knew 
him well were certain that he would take a distinguished 
place in any legislative body to which he might be called. 
Success came easily to him, and he must have enjoyed it in- 
tensely. Yet all through his career in Congress, when con- 
gratulations were heard on all sides, in the midst of his success, 
while Congress sat delighted to listen to him, the slight tinge 
of melancholy in his character is strangely manifest. He did 
not feel at home among the eager politicians who surrounded 
him. 

He was overcome at times with his old distaste for a politi- 
cal life, of which the sordid part was often manifested in the 
struggle that went on around him. His letters show that he 
was dissatisfied with much of his Washington life. One can- 
not fancy them the letters of a politician written in the midst 
of political successes ; they breathe a sort of spirit of exile, 
and a tone of revolt runs through them ; yet, in a way, too, he 
loved his life. He did not desire a life of inglorious ease ; he 
felt the duty that is laid upon men to enter into the battle of 
life, to give themselves freely and without reserve to the task 
that lies before them, even though it be to fight with beasts 
at Ephesus. His letters show the inner consciousness of his 
mind, the deep undercurrent of his thought that set steadily 
toward the goal to which he was insensibly drawn ; the haven 
of peace he was to find in so short a time, after a life of singu- 
lar stress and unselfish consecration to the duty of the hour. 

In December, 1889, Greenhalge went to Washington, and 
was present at the organization of Congress. He returned to 
Lowell for the Christmas recess, and then removed his family 
to Washington for the winter. He lived at 825 Vermont 
Avenue. The family life was quiet and domestic in the midst 
of the political and social hurly-burly of Washington. 

The first session of the Fifty-first Congress continued through 
the entire summer of 1890, — a period of exile to Greenhalge, 
who regretted the absence of his family, which had returned 
to Lowell in the spring, who missed his quiet home life, and 
sighed for the sea-breezes and out-of-door life he enjoyed at 
Kennebunkport. The disorderly scenes enacted in Congress 
filled him with disgust. It was under the influence of these 



188 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENE ALGE. 

feelings that the letters that follow were composed. The later 
ones were written during his second winter in Washington, 
while his family were at home in Lowell. They did not spend 
the second winter with him at Washington, and their absence 
made his life there lonely, and in a sense solitary. 

Washington'. 

I miss the beautiful mornings, noons, and nights of K-port. 
I miss my life, my calm summer life, fountain of strength and 
hope. The organ man outside has played " Home, sweet 
Home, " and the prison song from II Trovatore, and the tears 
are in my eyes. Good-by. I look at the picture of my cot- 
tage; I see you all on the rock at the door, or in the open 
parlor. Adieu. God bless and keep you all. 

Washington, Sept. 22, 1890. 
No, there is no truth in the " Herald " article, though I 
have not seen it. Of course there are suggestions of rivalry 
from outsiders ; but " I will none of it. " I am planning for 
nothing. I am not a politician, and I know it. 

Washington, Dec. 15. 

I want to settle down into a regular way of life. The 

experience I get here is valuable, and gives me much light on 

men and affairs ; but I do not regard it as my real life. I 

miss my family, my beloved wife, and the regular order of 

existence. 

Washington, Jan. 19, 1S90. 

A cool, bright morning. I did not speak on the Indian 

Bill because it went along. Professor L and I sit at our 

table and comfort each other as well as we can. We shall 
have a grand row over the Silver Bill, which came from the 
crazy Senate yesterday. Our only hope is to stave it off until 
we can get a reasonable bill. I get sick of all the small and 
large jealousies of this life, — the competition is so much 
keener than anywhere else. The most trivial things are 
seized upon, — to exalt one man, and to lower another; but I 
think my conscience is clear of envy, hatred, or malice to any- 
body. I want only justice, and am willing to give justice to 
everybody else. 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 189 

Washington, Dec, 1891. 

There are several pleasant people here : Professor and 

wife from Cambridge; he a member of the faculty, and, 
" mirabile dictu, " a Eepublican. He said he expected to find 
me hoofed, horned, and tailed. It is better than election to 
meet such a case. I am counting the days till I can come to 
you. How I wish my way of life were settled, and I were 
going on quietly and easily and regularly. But even in the 
old, quiet days, I remember I was not always quiet. I used 
to get very blue and dismal, and I thought that action of any 
sort — good, bad, or indifferent — was better than quiet, and 
that a man should be tighting, defying, seeking obstacles for 
the sake of overthrowing them. Upon the whole, I am not 
dissatisfied with myself. Strange, is it not ? I am only dis- 
satisfied with a base and mean-spirited community, and the 
odd turn of affairs. 

Washington, Feb. 5, 1891. 

My life here seems aimless and listless. I do not feel any 
interest in anything. I am compelled to go through a deal of 
routine work, — offices, patronage, influence, favors, docu- 
ments, information, — and I am told that is the true business 
of life, and real greatness. As if everybody were grasping, 
— grasping for himself, and in a mean, sordid way. I am a 
dreamer, an impractical man, because I do not wallow in the 
slough of personal gain and " swap " favors with office-seekers. 
I sometimes wonder if, after all, these folks are not right and 
I all wrong. The meanness of men has no limit. I find no 
real pride, no self-respect, but fawning, threatening, lying 
men, where offices are in question. 

"Washington, Jan. 21, 1891. 

A rather gray morning and chilly. The hurly-burly still 
continues, and even grows worse ; as you have seen in the 
papers, there was a disgraceful scene in the House yesterday 
morning. I had just taken Mr. Bachelor into the gallery; he 

must have been much edified by Mr. M 's demonstration. 

Of course it all indirectly grows out of the election bill, and 
my view is, that the country is not behind us on this (appar- 
ently). The Senate should not have forced it at this time. 



-^*— ^^ . 



190 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

The Bill is right — a good many things are; but you can't 
do them. But the brutality and idiocy of are unjusti- 
fiable on any ground. The A Post Office contest annoys 

me extremely. I am more and more anxious to close up this 
business, and I will reform and " be happy forever after. " 

Washington, Jan. 14, 1891. 

A bright, cheerful morning. I have just received your 

Monday's letter. Yes, the W s are here. I played 

whist with them last night, with my usual bad luck. Lodge 
made a reply to the attack on him yesterday, which was 
really very fine. . . . What ferocious partisans independent 
and pure-minded people become ! . . . I wish I were at home 
now. This business is not at all to my liking. It is " fighting 
with beasts at Ephesus. " Senator said to me yester- 
day : " You will always be before the people ; no man can have 
more opportunities for high public duties than you. Continue 
to study the great questions of the day. Your voice will 
always be one of authority. " I replied that I had no " politi- 
cal future," had never had one, or wanted one. I took things 
as they came, etc. And I mean every word of it. I propose 
to allow others to share in the glory and in the labor. 

It is a contrast to turn from the letters of Greenhalge to his 
speeches in Congress ; the latter reveal the man in action, en- 
gaged in actual duties and the earnest struggle of a political 
life. They are keen-witted in the extreme, virile and forcible. 
There is an abrupt change from the slightly melancholy tone 
of his letters. All is vigorous and vivacious ; they show the 
power of action to invigorate the mind and raise it to the 
heights of cheerfulness. 

Greenhalge first addressed the House February 3, at a moment 
of intense excitement. The House was crowded, and by rising 
to make his first speech at such a time he challenged the 
attention of Congress in a manner that assured him either a 
brilliant success or a disastrous failure. It was his oppor- 
tunity, and in a masterly way did he avail himself of it. The 
attention of all was riveted upon him at once. He did not 
shrink from the ordeal, and his talent carried him triumphantly 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 191 

through it. The attention of the House changed to admira- 
tion. His speech was an exhibition of wit and sarcasm, and 
also showed the higher qualities of logic and legal knowledge. 
It revealed a power of invective and aroused the enthusiasm of 
his own party. The Democrats felt that they had encountered 
a powerful enemy, yet could not help being pleased with his 
display of oratory. The case upon which he spoke was that of 
Smith versus Jackson. Greenhalge said : — 

"Mr. Speaker, — After the diatribe of the gentleman from 
Virginia, every word of which we have heard a thousand times 
before, it may be well to consider gravely the nature of the 
question now pending before this House. The question before 
us to-day, sir, is one of the highest privilege. It is a primal 
duty on the part of this House to organize itself, and to deter- 
mine under the Constitution who are the members duly elected 
to hold seats as members of the House. It is a duty, Mr 
Speaker, which precedes the adoption of any specific rules or 
by-laws or regulations designed to govern the conduct of the 
House in regard to matters of ordinary business which come 
before it. Given us the Constitution and the parliamentary 
law, which is the governing principle of every assembly of 
American freemen, the principles of which are 'familiar in 
men's mouths as household words,' and we need no other rule 
of procedure. 

" I have heard questions upon the floor of this House time 
and time again as to what this parliamentary law is, and 
whither we are going to find it. I say that the body of the 
parliamentary law is as well defined, as strictly limited, is as 
easily ascertained, and as readily applied as the common law ; 
and in its history, its origin, development, and application it 
bears a close analogy to the great body of the law which we 
know as the common law. 

" Gentlemen upon the other side of the House admire per- 
haps this system of parliamentary law so much that they have 
come to admire its appurtenances, its incidents, and even its 
defects, more than the system itself. 

" Why, they talk about these forty-seven rules of the last 
House of Eepresentatives, some of which prescribe the duties 
of the officers of the House, — one that the Chaplain shall open 



192 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

the session of the House with a prayer each morning, rules 
which govern the use of the Hall, granting it for certain pur- 
poses and denying it for others, rules with regard to the right 
of admission to the galleries, and so on, — I say they talk of 
these forty-seven rules in a spirit of adoration, very similar to 
that which inspired Mrs. Gamp whenever she spoke of the 
angelic ' Mrs. Harris.' Why, you remember that Mrs. Gamp 
used to say of Mrs. Harris that she had 'the countenance of 
an angel — which it would be if it were n't for the pimples.' 
[Laughter.] I do not like to compare the Democratic party 
to Mrs. Gamp, though the points of similarity, perhaps, are 
somewhat obvious. 

" A Member. Especially the pimples. [Laughter.] 

"Mr. Greenhalge. Yes. And I do not want the Demo- 
cratic side of the House to go beyond Mrs. Gamp in admiration 
of these rules. I do not want them to admire the pimples 
more than the countenance itself. [Laughter.] 

" Mr. Speaker, I like to speak well of the other side whenever 
I have an opportunity. I desire to say of the minority report 
that it does great credit to the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. 
Crisp] who prepared it. I think the language of the report is 
in admirable tone and in Machiavelian form. [Laughter.] I 
cannot say it is a good report absolutely, but I will pay it as 
much of a compliment as I can. 

" Kalph Waldo Emerson, who, if he had been so fortunate as 
to live long enough, would have been a constituent of mine, 
once received a prize at a horticultural exhibition. He was 
very much surprised, however ; but his surprise turned to dis- 
appointment when he found that the first prize was for the 
very worst specimens of the best varieties on exhibition. I will 
pay my friend from Georgia the compliment of saying that this 
minority report is the best report on the worst case that has 
been presented to this House for fifty years. [Laughter and 
applause on the Republican side.] 

" There is such an air of graceful concession about it [laugh- 
ter], such an assumption of judicial spirit. The gentleman 
would not ask for anything that is not backed up by the read- 
ing of nine hundred pages of printed testimony. Oh, no ; but 
when you find the actual points and facts in this case, you will 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 193 

see that wisdom and art were shown by my friend from Georgia 
in his pecuhar treatment of this case, and were not shown by 
the gentleman from Virginia who has just taken his seat. 

" Let us look at this question broadly for a few moments. It 
appears from the discussion already that the subject before the 
House embraces a great variety of questions. We have ques- 
tions of law and questions of fact ; and these questions take a 
wide range. Upon the one side we have a question as to the 
construction of a statute, and upon the other a question as to 
whether John Diggs and a number of other railroad laborers 
were residents of Putnam County, West Virginia. We have 
upon the one hand a question involving the conduct of the 
chief magistrate of a sovereign commonwealth, and upon the 
other a question as to whether a payment by the authorities 
of a bill for a child's coffin brands the father as a pauper, and 
deprives him of the dearest right of an American freeman. 
Such are some of the questions presented in this case ; but the 
whole case divides itself naturally into two great branches. 

" First, was not the contestant elected duly and fairly, and 
was he not entitled to the certificate of election ; and was he 
not deprived of his right by the governor of West Virgmia by 
a prostitution of power which would be farcical if it were not 
shameful? The second branch of the case is the charge of 
illegal votes alleged to have been cast upon the one side and 
upon the other. 

"I will briefly take up the question of illegal votes first. 
One hundred and two votes are charged by the contestant to 
have been illegally cast for the contestee. The contestee alleges 
that 127 votes were cast illegally for the contestant. Let us 
see how these illegal votes divide themselves. They divide 
themselves into four principal groups, — non-residents, minors, 
paupers, and persons of unsound mind ; and mark the numbers 
of those votes upon each side claimed as illegal. The con- 
testant says (and he is the first person to give the count upon 
his side, the contestee replying), ' Sixty-eight non-residents 
voted for you whose votes were illegal.' The contestee replies, 
* Sixty-nine non-residents voted for you.' ' Fifteen minors,' says 
the contestant, 'voted for you.' 'Eighteen minors,' says the 
contestee, ' voted for you.' ' Eleven persons of unsound mind 

13 



194 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

voted for you/ says the contestant. 'Fifteen persons of un- 
sound mind/ says the contestee, ' voted for you.' ' Five paupers 
voted for you/ says the contestant. ' Twenty paupers voted for 
you/ says the contestee. ' One convict voted for the contestee/ 
says the contestant. 'Two convicts voted for you/ says the 
contestee, and so on. 

" Each time and in each class the contestee, in his innocent 
and candid way, always goes a little beyond the figures stated 
by the contestant. Now, when we come to throwing out votes 
for unsoundness of mind in political matters we are treading 
upon very delicate ground. [Laughter.] We know what un- 
soundness of mind is in a man making a testamentary docu- 
ment, or in a matter of criminal responsibility ; but I am 
afraid that the first test made by a political party of unsound- 
ness of mind would be that the man voted the opposite ticket. 
[Laughter.] 

" I am afraid that some gentleman might have thought that 
unless a man believed that the appointment of tellers in a 
division of this House was the palladium of American liberty 
he was a person of unsound mind. [Laughter.] Why, we find 
in some of these cases to which the gentleman from Virginia has 
adverted — we find men charged with being of unsound mind 
who are able, according to the testimony in the matter of Pard 
Kobinson, to discuss constitutional amendments intelligently, 
perhaps not as eloquently as some of the silver-tongued gentle- 
men on the other side discuss constitutional amendments ; but 
we do not want too many silver-tongued orators, Mr. Speaker, 
in the country. I think, after the experience of this session, 
the House would vote by a large majority against an unlimited 
coinage of silver-tongued orators. [Laughter and applause.] 
And I think the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Bland] would 
be found voting with the majority upon that point. [Renewed 
laughter.] But, I say, we have adopted a rule, and we will 
stand by it ; and here is the recorded testimony, that where a 
man has intelligence enough and energy enough to interest 
himself about a political question, to stand up and to vote, it 
does not lie within the mouth of any member of any political 
party to say that he shall be disfranchised on the ground of 
unsoundness of mind. 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 195 

"Take the question of what constitutes a pauper. This 
question is raised in the case of William Lee. I was surprised 
to hear again my impulsive and impetuous friend from Virginia 
go so far beyond that acute and astute gentleman from Georgia, 
in claiming that the vote of William Lee ought to be rejected 
Oil the ground of pauperism. Why, the record shows, on page 
741, that William Lee, a man pursued by disaster, had on one 
or two occasions been obliged to ask for help of the public 
authorities ; and that on a certain occasion, when death had 
taken a child from his house, he went to a man named Fowler, 
who happened to be the overseer of the poor, but who was a 
friend of William Lee, and for whom William Lee had worked, 
and asked that he furnish him with a coflfin for his child ; and 
Lee testifies in the record here that he went to this man Fowler 
as an individual and as a friend, and not as to an official, ex- 
pecting to pay the bill himself ; and Fowler's testimony shows 
that if Lee had voted the Democratic ticket the question of 
pauperism would never have been raised. 

" Mr. Coopee, of Ohio. He asked him to vote the Demo- 
cratic ticket. 

"Me. Greenhalge. Yes, sir. I am reminded that this 
very overseer of the poor asked William Lee to vote the 
Democratic ticket ; and the fact that he did not vote it was 
made a sufficient reason for this challenge of his vote at the 
polls. 

" Now, my wise and astute friend from Georgia [Mr. Crisp] 
says — I have no doubt he said this in their private gathering, 
the caucus of the minority of the committee. I have not the 
'Baltimore Sun' or the 'St. Louis Globe-Democrat,' as the 
gentleman had, to tell me what took place in that caucus, but 
at least I am allowed to imagine and to infer how this matter 
was discussed. The gentleman from Georgia probably said, 
' It won't do to go before the country on this pauperism 
matter ; we must go slowly ; I would not say too much about 
that child's coffin being paid for; drop it out.' Because he 
knew, with his political sense, which I imagine is pretty keen 
and pretty strong, that the political party which should insist 
for such a reason upon depriving of his franchise a man whom 
'disaster follows fast and follows faster' until death stands 



196 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

within his door, taking away a beloved child or a beloved wife, 
and poverty stands outside denying a decent burial to the 
dead, will find that child's coffin wide enough and deep enough 
to bury that political party beyond all chance of resurrection. 
[Applause on the Eepublican side.] So, of the twenty paupers 
he drops out eighteen, and if he had examined the record, as 
he pretends to have done, he would have had his right hand 
burned off rather than have left the name of William Lee upon 
the list of illegal votes to be charged against the contestant. 

"Now we come to the question of non-residents. I do 
not care to discuss what has been so exhaustively and so 
thoroughly and so ably discussed by the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Dalzell] and the gentleman from Illinois 
[Mr. Rowell]. We come now to what I consider the key- 
note of this whole case, another point where the wisdom and 
acuteness of my friend from Georgia come in. He does not 
want much said about that proclamation of the governor of 
West Virginia. He says, 'Oh, that matter has been practi- 
cally settled ; we make no contest about that.' And here 
comes in the judicial tone, the air of utter fairness and impar- 
tiality. The governor, he says, perhaps was right, upon the 
record which he had before him ; but we, with the light that 
we have received in the committee, must say that in two or 
three of his conclusions he was not accurate. 

"My chivalrous friend from Virginia [Mr. OTerrall], 
however, takes no warning from the cautious and prudent 
tone of the minority report. He plunges in recklessly and 
impulsively to the defence of the chief magistrate of West 
Virginia. Now, I want to speak in terms of great respect 
of this remarkable State document, and the only question in 
my mind at this moment is whether the minority report of 
our committee or this proclamation of the governor of West 
Virginia should stand highest in political literature. I ought 
not to speak in simple words about this proclamation. It is 
a monument of massive and majestic constitutional learning. 
[Laughter on the Republican side.] I think it ought to be 
treated of in sesquipedalian words, and I apologize beforehand 
if, in speaking of it, I happen to use a word of less than three 
or four or five syllables. 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 197 

"Now we come to the remarkable reasoning of the gov- 
ernor of West Virginia upon this 'eight hundred and twe.' 
I do not think that in this debate sufficient importance has 
been assigned to that great question. I know that my friend 
from Georgia [Mr. Crisp] will not give it much importance. 
He is too wise and too keen for that. Even the gentleman 
from Virginia [Mr. OTerrall] takes a mild, aj)ologetic tone, 
and what my friend from Ohio [Mr. Outhwaite] will do 
afterwards about it I do not know, but I venture to say he 
will go over it m a very tender and gingerly manner. Listen 
to the magnificent reasoning of the governor. He says, ' J. M. 
Jackson received eight hundred and twe votes,' and I sub- 
mit, Mr. Speaker, that the real question in this case is con- 
tained in the construction which you will put upon that one 
sentence, and that all this talk of illegal votes is something 
superadded and sometliing thrown in as a make-weight to 
confuse the real issue in the case. Now, what does the gov- 
ernor say about these wonderful hieroglyphics ? He says : 

" ' The words and letters — ' mark you, this is a Democratic 
governor who is talking, and I want proper respect to be paid 
to his manifesto — ' the words and letters are too plain for 
any mistake. For the reasons heretofore given, there is no au- 
thority to go behind the returns. The vote certified must be 
counted if enough appears to ascertain the meaning. In an 
action upon a note it was held — ' I presume this governor 
is a lawyer — 

"A Member. No. 

"Mr. Greenhalge. Well, I mean a member of the bar. 
The governor says further: — 

" ' In an action upon a note it was held : " There was no error 
in admitting the note sued on in evidence, because the amount 
thereof is written four hund." (Glen vs. Porter, 72 Ind., 525.)' 

" How convincing it seems, when you make a citation of 
a law report in that manner ! [Laughter.] The governor 
proceeds : — 

" * So it has been held that the abbreviation in a declaration, 
" damage one thous. dollars," is not an error.* 

"Mr. Niedringhaus. Does the gentleman know that 'twe' 
is the original Anglo-Saxon way of spelling the word ' two ' ? 



198 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" Mr. Geeenhalge. Oh, yes ; I am familiar with the whole 
language from its very beginning [laughter] ; but I thank my 
friend for the suggestion, because that corroborates our position. 

"Now, I want gentlemen to listen to this Pickwickian 
reasoning, which certainly is the richest piece of political 
reasoning that I ever read in my life. I want my friend 
from Georgia to give vis a little more debate upon this point. 
He has two or three hours left, and I want his best opinion 
upon this, and none of that suppression of the truth which 
appears to be the governing policy of our friends on the other 
side in this case. I read : — 

"'If enough appear to make the returns intelligible, it 
should be made so. This cannot be done without striking out 
one letter and inserting another, or by supplying the seemingly 
omitted letters. Acting upon the face of the paper, the latter 
appears more in consonance with adjudged cases. (1 W. L. J., 
Mich., 395.)' 

" You remember, my brethren of the bar, how glibly that 
comes from our lips at times, — that beautiful phrase, ' in con- 
sonance with adjudged cases.' Why, we roll it under our 
tongue as a sweet morsel; and the governor has culled that 
choice phrase from some library in West Virginia. 

" ' The least number would give to said Jackson 812 votes. 
It will be so entered.' 

" This is a decree of the Medes and Persians, ' It will be so 
entered.' Yes, he takes credit to himself — a credit probably 
claimed also by the contestee and the gentlemen supporting 
him — for extreme moderation, because the same reasoning 
which would enable them to claim twelve votes on that 
return would enable them to claim twelve hundred or twelve 
thousand. I am willing to give them credit for moderation. 
I am surprised that they stopped at twelve, and did not say 
that it was more ' in consonance with adjudged cases ' to make 
the number twelve thousand. 

"But there is another word, Mr. Speaker, which I think 
will suit this abbreviation which my friend says is the original 
Saxon spelling of the word ' two ' — about which I have no 
doubt in the world — a fact which I have always been ac- 
quainted with. [Laughter.] I say there is another word; 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 199 

and reasoning as the governor does by parity of reasoning — 
gubernatorial reasoning, I mean — I can show that my word 
has a better right to a place in that return than the governor's 
substitute. I say the word ' tweedledee ' exactly fits the 
requirements of this case and stamps its spirit upon the whole 
case. Now, by parity of reasoning, you will observe that the 
word to be supplied could not be the word 'tweedledum,' 
because the terminate letter ' m ' is not suited to the ' adjudged 
cases.' [Laughter.] We need a terminate letter 'e.' 'Twee- 
dledee' entirely fills the bill. 

' 'Tis strange such difference there should be 
'Twixt tweedledum and tweedledee.' 

"But so it is. I remember a good deal of talk about a 
gubernatorial proclamation in my State once, where the sar- 
castic clerk, being required to read a proclamation on Thanks- 
giving Day, read : ' Blank, blank, governor of Massachusetts ; 
God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.' [Laughter.] 
I say, Mr. Speaker, ' E. M. Wilson, governor of West Virginia ; 
God save the State of West Virginia.' [Laughter and ap- 
plause.] And I think, Mr. Speaker, God will save the State 
of West Virginia before long. [Kenewed laughter and ap- 
plause on the Eepublican side.] 

" It would be impossible for me to discuss these individual 
votes, but I ask the attention of the House, not to a reading of 
this record, but to a simple statement of the kind of vote 
which has been given under each one of these four classes. 

" I ask you to take the case of William Lee as branding the 
kind of vote which they ask you to find illegal under the 
category of paupers. I ask you to take the case of Israel 
Cullen, page 741 of the record, as stamping the kind of votes 
they want excluded under the head of non-residence. I ask 
you to take the case of Pard Eobinson and William Britton 
as the kind of persons they want excluded on the ground of 
unsoundness of mind. Take those cases and ' ex uno discc omnes.' 
You will find that from the beginning they have taken up 
these individual cases, not for the sake of explaining to the 
House or to the country their reasons for disputing the seat of 
this contestant, but simply to cloud the issue and to give them 



200 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

a right to say that we have proceeded unfairly and not in a 
judicial way. 

" My time, Mr. Speaker, is short. I say if ever there was a 
case where the voice of the people was the voice of God it is 
the voice of the people of the Fourth Congressional District of 
West Virginia, speaking to you, to this House, and to the 
country to-day. I say you are bound to hearken to that 
voice, to obey it, and to give to the contestant his rightful 
seat in the House. [Long-continued applause on the Eepub- 
lican side.] " 

His next speech was delivered February 26, in the contested 
election case of Atkinson versus Pendleton. Most of these 
election cases were of the same origin. The Ptepublicans 
believed that the members seated in the first place obtained 
their places by means of fraud, and often of intimidation. 
They thought that a free vote by all the people of their dis- 
tricts had not been permitted, that party manipulations and 
fraudulent returns had given them their seats. The Federal 
Elections Bill grew out of this belief of the Eepublican party. 
A free ballot, the privilege of freemen, the ground-stone of 
Eepublican institutions, was denied to many citizens of the 
South. This was to violate the Constitution and undo the 
results of the war. In these cases the Eepublicans were 
determined to vindicate the principles which they thought 
involved, and the Democrats in Congress were equally fixed 
in purpose to maintain their individual rights. Therefore 
the contests were bitter and hard-fought. 

The following speech was delivered by Greenhalge during 
the debates over this case of Atkinson versus Pendleton : — 

" The question before the House has about it, sir, a special 
and peculiar interest. The election in the First Congressional 
District of West Virginia in 1888 was a close one, and it was 
hotly contested. It was known beforehand that the impending 
contest was likely to be doubtful in its issue, and each party 
strained every nerve and put forth every effort to attain success. 
By each party the ranks of the opposing forces were carefully 
scanned to detect illegal voters, and the vote of every person 
presented was subjected to a rigid examination. Voters who 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 201 

had deposited their ballots for years and years without question 
were challenged, and required to prove their right. 

" The situation, Mr. Speaker, in West Virginia, and particu- 
larly in this first district, was peculiar. The circumstances 
were most interesting. There seemed to be a new impulse in 
the political life of the people, which pervaded the whole State. 
A whisper of the doctrine of protection had floated down across 
the hills. That whisper had been heard in every coal-mine, in 
every workshop, in every household, in every farm and family. 
More than that, there was another influence at work. Labor, 
springing to his feet, like Samson with the cry of the Philistines 
in his ears, stood forth, and, bursting his bonds of iron, stood 
prepared to meet his enemies. 

" Then there was another influence. A new political watch- 
word had been given out in that section of the country, 'A 
free ballot and a fair count ; ' and there seemed to be a kind of 
music, a kind of rhythm about that watcbword, 'A free ballot 
and a fair count ; ' and thousands of men, hitherto totally in- 
different in political matters, were stepping to the rhythm of 
that watchword as men step to the beat of the drum, — 'A free 
ballot and a fair count.' Such were some of the influences 
which arrayed the forces under the Eepublican banner ; and the 
old Democracy, confident in a hundred victories, buckled on its 
armor and prepared to meet the new challenger. 

"The contest, I say, was close. It was some days before the 
result was at all understood, but finally a rumor pervaded the 
State that somehow, not merely in the contested congressional 
districts but throughout the whole State, the Eepublican party 
had been victorious all along the line, and that in this par- 
ticular district Atkinson was elected by seven votes. Then it 
was that the mysteries of the recounting process came into 
active operation. Then it was that Lee Snodgrass and Judge 
Earnshaw, whom my friends on the other side defend with so 
much vigor and enthusiasm, pirouetted down to the front of the 
stage and said, * Behold the saviors of the First Congressional 
District ! ' 

" I think it important, Mr. Speaker, to examine a little into 
the character and conduct of these alleged saviors. I think, 
however, that this House ought to pay a tribute to Judge Earn- 



202 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

shaw on one account, — on account of his display of conjugal 
affection, which will carry his name down to the remotest ages. 
[Laughter.] Perhaps we admire conjugal affection, Mr. Speaker, 
on account of its exceeding rarity, but I am always willing to 
do justice to such an exhibition of it as this judge of elections 
manifested on this particular occasion. 

" Oh, they tell us that the beloved Mrs. Earnshaw was not actu- 
ally ill, although her alleged illness, communicated by telegram, 
was the cause of postponing the recount in Wetzel County. She 
was, according to page 415 of the record, at a merry-making; 
but still I desire the House to pay a proper tribute to Judge 
Earnshaw on this principle : that if his grief at an unreal sick- 
ness of his wife was so great, how extreme would his grief have 
been at a genuine illness. [Laughter.] Do not let us forget this 
exquisite proportion. I remember that once an ostentatious 
showman (and my colleague from Massachusetts, Mr. Morse, 
would probably assure me that all showmen are ostentatious) 
exhibited a sword, and said, 'This is the sword that Balaam 
had.' Then some strict constructionist of Biblical literature 
said, ' But, my friend, you make a mistake ; Balaam had no 
sword ; he only wished for one.' ' Well,' said the ready show- 
man, 'this is the sword he wished for.' [Laughter.] 

" Now, I say that if we are inclined to underrate the grief 
of Judge Earnshaw, if we are inclined to undervalue the tears 
which saturate page 414 of the record in this case, we must 
remember that those tears are what he would have shed 
in case the calamity which was imaginary had been real. 
[Laughter.] There was a telegram which my ingenuous friend 
who prepared the minority report speaks of in tender and com- 
passionate terms. He cannot believe that a judge of elections 
in West Virginia could exhibit any bad faith. Of course not. 
And the gentleman [Mr. O'Ferrall] has prepared a mild and 
somewhat apologetic report upon those telegrams, which are 
confessedly insincere, false, and fraudulent ; but perhaps they 
pass over that as a trivial incident in the Democracy of West 
Virginia. 

" When I compare the tone of this report with the careful 
and diplomatic tone of the report in the case of Smith against 
Jackson, I seem to hear in this report the rattle and clang of 



1 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 203 

cavalry and the dash of hoofs, and to see the shaking of phimes 
and pennons. Now, I spoke very tenderly, and, I hope, kindly, 
of the first report made by the minority of the committee, 
because, strange as it may seem, I have quite a liking for the 
majority of the minority of the committee. [Laughter.] But 
I want to stigmatize as severely as I can this report of my 
friend from Virginia. 

"I wish I could, in a rapid and hasty generalization, dis- 
tinguish between this report and the one prepared by the 
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Crisp] in the case of Smith 
against Jackson ; and when I considered the topics taken up 
and defended by the gentleman who prepared this report, it 
occurred to me that I wanted to say that ' fools rush in where 
angels fear to tread.' But, I said, there are two objections to 
making a quotation of that sort : In the first place, the gentle- 
man from Virginia is not in the least like a fool, and, in the 
next place, the gentleman from Georgia is not in the least like 
an angel. [Laughter.] So I had to abandon that method of 
rapid generalization. 

"We come now to the testimony as to the behavior of 
another one of this precious pair, Mr. Lee Snodgrass ; and the 
tender and compassionate treatment given to him by the mi- 
nority report is worthy the admiration of all philanthropists 
and the imitation of all eleemosynary institutions. [Laughter.] 

"Why, Mr. Speaker, when the record in all its enormity 
shows forth the character of Mr. Lee Snodgrass, who, it is con- 
fessed, dickered and haggled for the sum of $3,000 as a price 
for making a clean breast of his conduct in this case ; when 
it is perfectly evident, by every word relating to Snodgrass 
in this report, that he was conniving with Earnshaw and with 
other conspirators to obtain possession of these ballot-boxes 
and to tamper with these votes ; when we hear the story of 
these trumped-up telegrams, these false and fraudulent sick- 
nesses, — we find it impossible to understand the mild tone in 
which the minority speak of this inestimable benefactor of the 
democracy of West Virginia. 

" I read from the minority report : ' From all the testimony 
it appears that however censurable Snodgrass's proposition may 
have been, he had the moral courage (God save the mark !) to 



204 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

resist the strong temptation held out to perjure himself — 
That is, they offered $1,000 and he desired $3,000. [Laughter.] 
— 'that though inducements of the strongest character were 
presented, he came forth from the interviews ' — and I can 
hear my friend from Virginia as he declaimed that sentence in 
his quiet room — 'he came forth from the interviews without 
perjury on his soul and without ill-gotten gains polluting his 
pocket. His perhaps unguarded remark and immature propo- 
sition ' — Immature proposition ! I like that term ! — seem 
to have reached the ears of men who were as willing to buy as 
he was to sell, but they were unwilling to pay unless they got 
full value. 

" Why, Mr. Speaker, what was their part in the transaction ? 
The Eepublican State Committee had offered openly a reward 
of 81,000 to discover the villains who had tampered with these 
ballots. That was their part in the transaction. And Snod- 
grass would not sell his guilty knowledge for less than $3,000. 
That was his part of the transaction. 

"I call Snodgrass and Earnshaw — the House will notice 
that I treat Earnshaw with a little more indulgence on account 
of his conjugal affection — I call them par nohile fratnim in 
this great work of ballot reform. They thought they were 
saving, not merely the First Congressional District of West Vir- 
ginia ; they thought they were saving the State, and in a pecu- 
liar manner, — perhaps peculiar to the party to which they 
belonged. 

" It has not been denied here that the main facts which have 
been represented upon the floor on the part of the majority of 
the committee are true. My friend from Missouri [Mr. Wilson] 
says : ' Why all this hue and cry about the recount in Wetzel 
County ? Did they not recount in Ohio County also ? And 
there Pendleton lost eight votes.' 

" Will gentlemen examine the record and see why there was 
not a hue and cry upon their side ? It will be found that the 
net gain of Pendleton, even in that recount, was some twelve 
or thirteen votes. Oh, but the opportunity being given to 
examine into this dark vault, to go and take possession of these 
ballot-boxes, is no evidence that any crime was committed ! 

" Can anything be more farcical, more amusing, in political 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 205 

history than that midnight march down into that vault when 
three men went ostensibly to search for one bottle of beer ? 
Why, sir, they had an opportunity. It was a close election. 
The three factors were, — an opportunity, a close election, and 
Snodgrass, the Democrat. And is not the inference inevitable 
that the ballot-boxes were tampered with, while the beer was 
undiscovered ? 

" Let me do justice to some of the Democratic members of 
that board of election officers. Under the strongest pressure 
to suppress the truth, Mr. Speaker, those men testified that not 
a scratch was made upon those ballots when they passed under 
their observation at the first examination. When we know 
that eighteen days elapsed between the time the county com- 
missioners began their examination and the time when it 
closed, when we have these mysterious telegrams from Arnett 
and Wells and from the mysterious 'McG.,' and when we 
find that the condition of the ballots was materially changed 
from their condition as testified to by the commissioners of 
election, I confess that I am astounded to see my respectable, 
my intelligent friends of the other side stand forward and 
claim that those votes in Wetzel County had not been tam- 
pered with ! 

" When we consider, Mr. Speaker, that midnight marauding 
party, when we know that the election of the present governor 
of West Virginia, worthy, I should say, from all the reports, 
to be successor of the 'tweedledee' governor of that State, 
depended to a great extent upon the vote in this county, and 
that he was perhaps seated by reason of some of the iniquities 
occurring in Wetzel County, it seems to me we have the right 
to say that a great moral question is presented to the Demo- 
cratic executive of West Virginia, and that great moral ques- 
tion is this : Ought the facilities for obtaining access to beer 
bottles to be increased, and the facilities for obtaining access to 
ballot-boxes to be diminished, or vice versa ? I say that is a 
great moral question, and nothing would please me better than 
to see the Democratic party wrestling with a great moral 
question. 

"I have heard, Mr. Speaker, of the proverbial danger of 
wrestling with a chimuey-sweep ; but you will observe that 



206 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

with nice delicacy towards my friends on the other side, I do 
not say which is the chimney-sweep, — the great moral ques- 
tion or the Democracy. [Laughter.] I leave that an open 
question for the House ; and I do not doubt that the Speaker, 
with that extreme leniency which he always shows to the 
other side, would preserve to them their constitutional right 
of demanding the yeas and nays upon the question. [Renewed 
laughter.] 

" It is easy, of course, in all these election cases to file a 
number of charges of illegal voting ; but how empty most of 
these are — I speak impartially ; I speak for one side and for 
the other — is shown by the promptness with which great 
numbers of those charges are instantly abandoned upon an 
examination. Now, the contestant charged there were 223 
illegal votes cast for the contestee, and the contestee charged 
that 174 illegal votes were cast for the contestant, 

"I take some pride, Mr. Speaker, in the fact that we are 
laying down some good law on election cases, in which we 
have even the concurrence of our friends on the other side ; 
and one of those rules, as this committee has unanimously 
decided, is that where a voter honestly casts his ballot, and 
where the only question is some technical question as to the 
boundaries of the particular district where he ought to vote, 
votes cast under an honest error of that sort shall be counted ; 
and that ruling of the committee disposes at once of 73 votes 
charged as illegal in the Wellsburgh district. And, upon the 
other hand, — for we do not propose to be outdone in magna- 
nimity and fairness by the other side, — we consigned to its 
proper place the charge that at Braxton Court House 35 votes 
were cast illegally for the contestee, and that in certain wards 
of the city of Wheeling 25 votes were cast illegally for the 
contestee. So that you will find upon examination that by 
one honest ruling 100 votes are stricken from the number of 
illegal votes charged by the contestee, and almost an equal 
number stricken from the number charged by the contestant. 

"Mr. O'Ferrall. The gentleman will permit me to ask 
whether the majority report and minority report do not agree 
on that point. 

"Mr. Greenhalge. I say that we have agreed upon the 



I 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 207 

rule ; and I congratulate the House and the country upon that 
one point of agreement. [Laughter.] 

" Me. O'Ferkall. I very much enjoy listening to the gentle- 
man while he draws upon his memory for his wit and upon his 
imagination for his facts. [Laughter.] 

" Mr. Greenhalge. I have heard that remark before, but I 
am not so cruel as to say so. [Laughter.] 

" Now, Mr. Speaker, it seems to me the whole question, after 
all, centres around the great fact of the conduct in relation to 
these ballots in Wetzel County. There cannot be any question, 
in the eighteen days Earnshaw devoted to his domestic duties 
and the delay of the count, that at that time in one precinct 
ten votes were stricken from the ballot in favor of the con- 
testant, and in another case fourteen votes were taken from 
him, and two votes illegally given to the contestee. 

" I say that here centres the whole story of this case. The 
flight to these questions of illegal votes is simply a flight to 
the underbrush, an attempt to evade the great central point in 
the case. And if every member of this House cared to take 
home this somewhat voluminous record, should take it to their 
homes and to their beds, if they have double beds [laughter], 
and familiarize themselves with the details of the testimony 
contained therein, I say that the careful examination by the 
majority of the committee of these, as alleged, illegal votes 
will stand all honest and fair criticism. And I believe this 
House will conclude, if they are not too closely bound to the 
other side by party ties, that the contestee has no riglit to sit 
in the seat which he occupies ; and which I judge, from the 
argument of my friend from Missouri [Mr. Wilson], is not his 
seat, but the seat of his ancestors, his sisters, his cousins, and 
his aunts. [Laughter and applause.] 

" I am willing to go any length in eulogizing my friend from 
West Virginia [Mr. Pendleton]. I am willing to say he is 
superior to Grover Cleveland, following out the comparison 
instituted between him and Mr. Cleveland by my friend from 
Missouri [laughter], for I might safely go that length; and 
while justice compels me to say that my friend from West 
Virginia was not duly elected to the seat he occupies, I take 
pleasure in saying, at least, that not a bit of this record is 



208 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

stained by any improper conduct on his part. And I take a 
greater pleasure in saying that his conduct while in the House 
has been that of dignity, of manhood, and of courtesy. 

" I say, Mr. Speaker, that it is a great pleasure if the bitter- 
ness of political warfare can be ameliorated by finding our ene- 
mies, — the men we have to contend against, — to find them of 
heroic and chivalric mould. Under those circumstances we 
have a right to love our enemies ; and I thank my friend on 
the other side he has at least permitted me to know 

* The stern joy that warriors feel 
In foemen worthy of their steel.' 

" Why, Mr. Speaker, when the other day under our very eyes 
we saw a number of gentlemen on the other side undergoing 
the horrible transformation effected on the unhappy followers 
of Ulysses by the art of Circe, I am glad to say that one of the 
noble exceptions from that horrible rout was the gentleman 
from West Virginia. No billingsgate polluted his lips. He 
did not writhe in parliamentary or unparliamentary convul- 
sions [laughter] ; he did not froth at the mouth and then pro- 
test he was making a constitutional argument. [Renewed 
laughter.] And when you, Mr. Speaker, ' the still, strong man 
in a blatant crowd,' were controlling this House, and standing 
like Gulliver among the Liliputians, with shrieks of anger and 
pain following his every movement, the gentleman from West 
Virginia was setting an example which many of his colleagues 
would have done well to follow. 

" Therefore, although I must admit that the contingency of 
my friend's return to this House is somewhat remote, despite 
the gloomy vaticinations of the gentleman from Missouri, — 
and I notice the vaticinations from that side always are gloomy 
[laughter], — I say that at least he goes back to the people of 
West Virginia with the assurance of one Eepublican, if it is 
worth anything, — and I do not know how much it is worth in 
the First Congressional District of West Virginia, — that he has 
at least proved to the House and the country that the good 
old name of ' gentleman,' with the nobility and manhood and 
refinement that the name implies, has not lost all honor and 
respect in the first legislative body of the world, — the Congress 
of the United States of America. [Great applause.] " 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 209 

March 4, in the case of Featherstone versus Gate, the oratory 
of Greenhalge was again heard in Congress. The occasion of 
the speech was the declaration of Mr. Breckinridge that no 
evidence could be found that any negroes had been killed in 
Arkansas in connection with politics, and that no evidence had 
been taken by the Committee on Elections to prove that there 
was any unfairness about the election of congressmen in the 
first district of Arkansas. 

Greenhalge 's sense of justice was stirred by the evidence in 
this case, and in his hatred of any form of oppression and 
political fraud, he poured forth a flood of denunciation in some 
passages of his speech. The impression he made upon the 
House was deep. His reference to the Clayton-Breckinridge 
contest was dramatic in its tone and effect. I quote the fol- 
lowing sentences from his speech : — • 

" Mr. Speaker, the recorded testimony in this case is, I 
believe, briefer, of smaller compass than the testimony filed 
with the Committee on Elections in any other case before that 
committee ; but I venture to say that the question raised in 
these 281 or 282 pages of testimony will be found to be as 
important as those raised for your consideration in the most 
voluminous record which will be presented to you in any case 
whatever. 

" "We have here, Mr. Speaker, for the first time, the neces- 
sity for opening the door and seeing the skeleton in the closet 
of our continental republic. We have here, for the first time, 
at least this session, the stupendous question of the rights of 
a race, — the question whether one race has the justice to do 
justice to another race. I said, Mr. Speaker, that this case 
raises the most important questions to be presented for the 
consideration of this House. I forgot the notable exception 
which has just been brought to my mind by the gentleman 
from Arkansas [Mr. Breckinridge], who has just taken his 
seat. I should have excepted the case in the adjoining district 
in the State of Arkansas, I mean the case of Clayton versus 
Breckinridge, where the House will be called upon sooner or 
later, and not later, if I have anything to do with it, to sit in 
the somewhat singular position of judge between the living 
and the dead. . . . 

14 



210 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" And then this peaceful, intelligent, respectable gathering 
of gentlemen, armed with their rifles, or whatever name you 
may choose to give them, proceeded to evict these helpless 
citizens, whose crime appeared to be the fact that the sun had 
burned upon them a deeper color than upon the Caucasian 
race. . . . 

" Are we to be met here, Mr. Speaker, when we are trying 
the right of a people, of a race, the right of a member to his 
seat in this House, the greatest and most honorable right 
that a man can have, — are we to be met by tuppenny techni- 
calities, such as I should not dare to use in a police court in 
Massachusetts ? . . . 

" I say that there was no safety, there was no law, there 
was no fairness in the County of Crittenden and State of 
Arkansas, and whether we are required to count up a certain 
number of votes, whether the quibble be made about 73 votes 
counted here or 224 allowed there, in order to preserve the 
purity of the ballot, we have a right to require a reasonable 
interpretation and application of the rigid rule which, if 
enforced, would make felony and violence rampant and tri- 
umphant. We are bound in this high court, not limited by 
petty technical restrictions, to throw away all petty technical- 
ities, and to say that the general spirit, purpose, and character 
of this essay [holding up the record of testimony in the case] 
on political assassination, which is vastly better than De 
Quincey's essay on ' Murder as a Fine Art,' as found here, 
shall not be encouraged ; and that be this contestant Democrat 
or Eepublican, be he black or white, as he comes here and 
demands his right, the justice of the American people, which 
never fails and never sleeps, requires that he should be seated 
because his right is established. " 

April 11 the case of Waddill versus Wise was before Con- 
gress. Senator Lodge characterizes the speech of Greenhalge 
on this occasion as his most eloquent effort in Congress. The 
speech was as follows : — 

" Mr. Speaker, — I have been at a loss to understand the 
pertinency or relevancy of the remarks of the gentleman from 
Virginia [Mr. O'Ferrall] upon this case. But a whisper has 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 211 

come to my ears that there has been some mistake in the time 
of delivering it. There is, I understand, at a not distant day, 
to be a State convention in Virginia at which the question of a 
gubernatorial nomination is to come up ; and the speech of the 
gentleman relates not so much to the question of whether the 
contestee shall retain his seat or the contestant take it as to 
whether the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. OTerrall] shall be 
nominated for governor of Virginia. 

" Me. Wise. Will the gentleman yield for an interruption ? 

" Mr. Greenhalge. Well, my time is exceedingly limited. 

" Mr. Wise. Just a second. 

" Mr. Greenhalge. Very well. 

" Mr. Wise. You do not want to labor under a misappre- 
hension or to make a mistake ? 

" Mr. Greenhalge. Certainly not. 

" Mr. Wise. The gubernatorial convention will not be held 
in Virginia for four years. 

" Mr. Greenhalge. Well, you cannot tell what views as to 
the future the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. O'Ferrall] may 
entertain. What are four years in his sight ? They are like 
a watch in the night. [Laughter.] And the speech is to be 
taken, Mr. Speaker, nunc pro tunc. [Laughter.] 

" Now, I am glad to inform the House that in our journey 
towards some important conclusions arrived at in the report of 
the committee we have been cheered and sustained by the 
always welcome company and sympathy of the minority of 
the committee. The resolution which has been appended at 
the close of their somewhat illogical remarks seems to imply 
that whatever else may be true in this case, whatever other 
questions may arise in this connection, the sitting member, 
whose position in the case seems to be somewhat in dispute at 
present from his own standpoint, was not duly elected and is 
not entitled to the seat, which candor compels me to say, and 
which I am perfectly willing to say, he has occupied with so 
much grace and dignity as almost to tempt me to forget occa- 
sionally the invalidity of his title thereto. [Applause.] 

" You may remember, Mr. Speaker, that at the opening of this 
session, if such trifles hold place in your recollection, gentle- 
men upon the other side contended that the liberties of the 



212 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

country depended upon a certain doctrine, to wit, that physical 
presence in this House was not incompatible with constitu- 
tional or constructive absence of members. That opinion was 
negatived by a majority of the House ; but in the interest of 
good feeling and from a desire to promote the era of good feel- 
ing, I desire to present as near an illustration of that doctrine 
as we shall ever get in this House in the person of the sitting 
member concerned in this investigation, — physically present, 
but according to the dictum of the minority and of the majority 
of this committee, constructively and constitutionally absent. 

" Mr. Lacey. Perspectively absent. 

" Mr. Greenhalge. Certainly. Now, Mr. Speaker, it is pleas- 
ant to know that in this vast volume of testimony, the most 
voluminous record, I think, presented to the Committee on 
Elections, there will be found very little conflict of facts. 
Where, according to the excerpts, the choice excerpts, in the 
minority report, and the extracts presented in the report of 
the majority upon one great set of facts, it appears clearly that 
in three precincts of what they call ' Jackson ward,' there was 
a long line in each of these precincts of colored voters endeavor- 
ing to vote ; that they remained there, some from the night 
before, showing some interest in their rights as freemen, some 
standing there ' from the rising of the sun to the going down 
thereof,' tendering, as we claim, their votes to the proper elec- 
tion authorities. There seems to be no question made upon 
this point, upon this great fact, and around that great fact 
centres the only dispute which is presented in law or in justice 
to this House to determine now. 

" The number of those men who stayed in line, who were ex- 
amined in the taking of testimony for this record, is sufficient 
to overcome the majority claimed for the contestee ; and the 
only question is whether this House will say there was a legal 
tender of votes under those circumstances, or whether, upon 
some quibble or technicality, those votes shall be cast out and 
not counted. 

"Now, Mr. Speaker, it is contended in the report of the 
minority, first, that the judges of election were guilty of no 
wrong-doing ; that all they did was strictly in the line of their 
official duty ; second, that the Democratic challengers were 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 213 

not guilty of fraudulently, unlawfully, or unnecessarily hin- 
dering or obstructing the voters in casting their ballots ; and 
thirdly (and these are their conclusions solemnly recorded in 
this report, written by the ablest man upon their side of the 
House), that while there was some unnecessary delay, some 
votes were probably lost to the contestant, it was the result 
of the tardiness of the Eepublican judge at the first precinct 
in finding the names of the voters on the registration book 
and the conduct of the Eepublican Federal supervisors at the 
first and second precincts. 

" Then mark the concluding passages, and see if you can tell 
why the minority have come to the conclusion which they 
record in their resolution : — 

" ' In the case before us we have before said we do not believe 
there was any considerable obstruction to the voters in their 
right to vote, but it appears that, at the time the polls were 
closed, at three of the precincts of Jackson ward there were a 
number of voters present at each polling place desiring and in- 
tending to vote who were prevented from doing so by no fault 
of their own, and it is possible that the number of such voters 
was sufficient to change the result had they all voted for the 
contestant. 

" ' As we have shown, under such a state of facts, the courts 
determine the result by the vote actually cast. The enforce- 
ment of that rule m this case would give the seat to the sitting 
member.' 

" Now mark the magnanimity of the minority : — 

" ' But we are not satisfied of the justice of such rule. While 
it is true that neither the contestee nor his partisans can justly 
be held responsible for the failure of any of the voters to exer- 
cise their right of suffrage, yet we believe that some were 
deprived of the opportunity to vote, and that the number 
might have been sufficient to change the result, 

" ' We therefore submit the following resolution : — 
" ' Resolved, That the seat now held by George D. Wise as the 
Eepresentative in the Fifty-first Congress from the Third Con- 
gressional District of Virginia be, and the same is hereby, 
declared vacant' 



maarfi^hflMHi^ 



214 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENE ALGE. 

" I say that this is the most preposterous law upon elections 
ever laid down in cold blood in this House. Do the gentlemen 
whose names are signed here mean to put forward the doctrine 
that if, without any fault of any candidate or party, without 
any conspiracy, without any fraud, without any act of God or 
of the public enemy, as by the breaking down of a wagon, by the 
overthrow of a railroad train, voters are prevented from being 
registered or from having their votes received — that because 
it is no fault of the voter these votes are to be counted as lost 
and a new election ordered ? If that is their reasoning, I say 
their law is abominable. I ask, in God's name, why, if they 
believe these facts as they recite them, — why have they de- 
serted the sitting member on this occasion ? If the facts are as 
they state them, the betrayal and abandonment of their brother 
and colleague upon this floor is the most shameful case of de- 
sertion that has ever darkened the annals of this House since 
its foundations were laid by the fathers. [Applause.] 

" Why, Mr. Speaker, there is no man whose name is signed to 
this minority report, from the distinguished name of the gentle 
man from Georgia [Mr. Crisp] to that of my excellent friend, 
Judge Moore, of Texas, who if the facts proved to exist would 
have warranted the belief that neither the contestee nor his par- 
tisans, agents, or his party were implicated in the obstruction of 
these voters or in any of the frauds alleged, would not have 
said, ' May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, and 
may my right hand forget its cunning,' before I put my name 
to any such report as that. 

" Mr. Speaker, as a distinguished predecessor of mine from 
Massachusetts, to whom I think I was compared a few days 
ago, one Daniel Webster [laughter] — though I am not sure 
whether I was compared to him or to one Mr. Sullivan, but 
Massachusetts always produces the best type, whether it is a 
gladiator or a statesman [laughter and applause] — as that 
distinguished predecessor of mine said in a murder case when 
the alleged murderer committed suicide, ' Suicide is confes- 
sion,' so I say that in this resolution we have the confession 
of the minority of the committee that the facts are not as they 
stated them, but are as they are charged in the report of the 
committee. We can lead the Democratic horse to the waters 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 215 

of truth and life ; we cannot make him drink. [Laughter.] He 
is not accustomed to that sort of tipple. [Laughter.] 

" Now, Mr. Speaker, when the distinguished contestee makes 
his valedictory remarks here — and I hope the speech will be 
as good as the valedictory speech of my friend Compton, whom 
I suppose I have helped to the post of State treasurer of Mary- 
land [laughter] ; when the distinguished contestee makes his 
valedictory address I trust he will ask for some logical explana- 
tion of this report of the minority of the committee. With 
those voters in line in the ' act of voting,' — for as my friend 
from Iowa [Mr. Lacey] puts it in his statesmanlike and phil- 
osophic report put forward for the majority, the act of voting 
is a continuous act — it is clear that that long line of colored 
voters ought to be counted first, last, and throughout. 

" What, then, Mr. Speaker, is the remedy ? Is it to declare the 
seat vacant and say that a new election must be ordered ? Shall 
the law be ineffectual ? Shall the white majesty of the law 
stand silent, powerless, inactive as yonder obelisk, or shall that 
law be clothed with power and strength enough to give to every 
man in that colored line the same rights that the white million- 
aire has ? Mr. Speaker, I have heard and read with admiration 
of that memorable ' thin red line ' which repelled the fiery 
onset of Napoleon at Waterloo, but I say that this ' thin black 
line,' standing from sunrise to sunset in Jackson ward, means 
as much for human freedom and civil liberty as the memorable 
' thin red line ' at Waterloo. [Applause on the Eepublican 
side.] 

" I go farther, Mr. Speaker : I say that if this House does not 
do justice to every man in those lines in the first, third, and 
fourth precincts of Jackson ward in the city of Eichmond, 
and count every vote there legally tendered, then the flaming 
lines of Gettysburg were nothing more than a vain and empty 
show, and even the grand words of Lincoln spoken over the 
graves of Gettysburg become only as 'sounding brass and a 
tinkling cymbal.' What remedy shall we apply in this House ? 
Shall we give a half-hearted, half-way remedy ? When the two 
mothers, or rather the two claimants for the child, came before 
the wisest of kings, each claiming the maternity of the child, 
the king said at first : ' Divide the living child in two ; give 



216 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

half to the one and half to the other.' That is the Democratic 
plan as proposed in this report. But when the cry of anguish 
broke from the lips of the true mother, the king gave the living 
child to her, the true mother. That is the Eepublican plan in 
the majority report of the committee. 

" Now, Mr. Speaker, I say do justice. Do not slay justice. 
Every principle of law and equity, of justice and right, every 
fact in this case, the same frauds, the same double-dealing which 
lead the minority to declare this seat vacant must compel this 
House to declare that the contestant is entitled to that seat ; 
and I say, in the name of justice and right, of law and equity, 
of logic and common-sense, the seat which is vacated by George 
D. Wise must by all these principles, and by the voices of six- 
teen thousand free men of Virginia, be given to Edmund Wad- 
dill, Jr., the contestant. [Prolonged applause on the Eepublican 
side.] " 

One of the strongest speeches delivered by Greenhalge in 
Congress was on the Federal Elections Bill, June 28, 1890. 
He spoke in the midst of an exciting debate. He did not 
believe that the country was behind the Republican party on 
this question, as is shown by a letter of his, but he did believe 
in the bill itself. " Tip " Wells and " Hatch " Williams et als. 
were living witnesses of the necessity of some control at the 
polls in the South. In his conduct of the election cases he 
had become acquainted with their shotgun policy, he had 
learned much about their ways in his sifting of the evidence. 
He believed in the necessity of Federal control. His spirit 
burned within his heart at what he thought an " ancient tale of 
wrong, " and the feeling gave fire to his words. His defence 
of the bill was eloquent and forcible, and made him the focus 
of all eyes. It drew the intense attention of the whole House 
and aroused the enthusiasm of the Republicans. 

" Mr. Greenhalge. Whenever, Mr. Speaker, I am in doubt 
as to the wisdom or expediency of any proposed legislation in 
this House, I have a certain rule which enables me to at once 
resolve any such doubt. If I find that opposition to a pending 
measure is coupled with a virulent attack upon Massachusetts 
or upon some of her distinguished thinkers or scholars, like my 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 217 

colleague in this house [Mr. Lodge], whose ability, integrity, 
and high purposes are a glory to Massachusetts, I know that 
the measure thus opposed is one in the interest of progress, of 
order, of liberty, and of equality. 

" It is natural, Mr. Speaker, that these attacks upon Massa- 
chusetts should be made. As her flashing ideas march out like 
battalions from the citadel of her peerless intellect, it is only 
natural, it is only to be expected, that the forces of vice and 
corruption, the guerillas of political society, should hang upon 
the flanks of her forces and attempt to impede and interrupt 
their onward march. This is as natural as that vice should 
hate virtue. When lago, speaking of the man whose honesty 
he hated, said, ' There is a daily beauty in his life which makes 
mine ugly,' he only repeated the sentiment which finds voice 
whenever the ideas of Massachusetts come to the front. Why, 
it is true that all the ideas that have come from that noble 
Commonwealth are not perfect. 

" It must be remembered that from the alembic of her glow- 
ing thought thousands of new opinions and new theories are 
brought before the eyes of the world. Some are transmuted 
into gold and abide forever; some are discovered to be dross 
and are thrown away. But what we complain of, and what 
we have a right to complain of, Mr. Speaker, is that we find 
men and communities to-day using as their daily standard diet, 
relishing as the tid-bits and delicacies of their table, the gar- 
bage which was flung from her kitchen a hundred years ago ! 
This is the fault which we have to find with some people, with 
some individuals, and with some communities and sections 
to-day. 

" It is enough, Mr. Speaker, to be assured that a measure is 
right, to find coupled to the opposition this feeling in regard to 
the old Commonwealth. 

" Now, Mr. Speaker, I have listened with a good deal of in- 
terest to the objections made upon the floor of this House to the 
pending measure. Those objections are not without a certain 
interest. They are worthy of consideration. When Eip Van 
Winkle, awaking from his sleep of twenty years, came down 
the mountain side, old and gray, and with flowing locks, to 
mingle again with busy men, his ideas were interesting, 



218 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

although not particularly original or instructive. [Laughter.] 
Now, some gentlemen upon the other side resemble Eip Van 
Winkle in one particular, — they have slept twenty years ; but, 
unlike Eip Van Winkle, they have not yet awaked, nor do they 
show signs of waking. [Laughter.] I was pleased, Mr. Speaker, 
to hear my venerable friend from Pennsylvania yesterday [Mr. 
Vaux]. I have now dropped the subject of Eip Van Winkle. 
[Laughter.] Comparisons are odious. [Laughter.] I welcomed 
him as what is called by some laudator temjjoris acti, a glow- 
ing and genuine eulogist of the days that are no more. 

" I like to hear that expression of regard for what we shall 
probably see no more in this country, or upon earth. I like to 
hear my friend's interpretation of the clause of the Constitu- 
tion now under consideration. There was a freshness and 
naivete about his interpretation of the words to ' make or alter ' 
[laughter] in this clause. I thought perhaps the interpreta- 
tion was characteristic. I am not very familiar with the sub- 
ject by which he endeavored to illustrate his construction of 
this clause, but as he and some other gentlemen seemed to 
speak with considerable feeling upon the subject, I may be 
permitted to hope there was no sad personal experience which 
led them to take that somewhat gloomy view. [Great laughter.] 

" I only know this, Mr. Speaker, that when the interpreta- 
tion of the Constitution is given into the hands of a strict con- 
structionist, — and I gather that most of the gentlemen who 
have spoken on the other side are strict constructionists of the 
straitest sect, — somehow or other, by fair means or foul, by 
logic or lack of logic, their interpretation results in the emas- 
culation of the Constitution. [Laughter.] Now, I say, Mr. 
Speaker, that the Constitution gives in clear and unmistakable 
terms authority to this Congress to enact the legislation pro- 
posed in this bill. I say that the exigency requiring that legis- 
lation exists in the lawlessness, in the illegal proceedings at 
numerous election precincts, which is matter, I believe, of com- 
mon knowledge and common shame, and, I hope, common 
regret. This is not so much denied, as it is justified under the 
circumstances. 

" Now, when I speak of the Constitution, and in its praise 
and support, I shall not use ' vain repetitions as the heathen 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 219 

do.' I shall not do it mouth honor, and then, by my conduct, 
prove that I believe it to be an instrument which ought to be 
' more honored in the breach than in the observance.' I say 
that the terms of the Constitution upon this particular matter 
are susceptible of only one explanation, and no other explana- 
tion of them ever was given until this afternoon by the gentle- 
man who has just sat down [Mr. Buckalew]. * Make or alter,' 
he says, means only that Congress may intervene where the 
States have failed to make regulations. How, then, does he 
dispose of the word ' alter ' ? 

" Certainly not in so felicitous a manner as his colleague from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Vaux]. If it means only to supply a defect, 
— to do something for the State which has not been done, — 
how can anybody, even the Congress of the United States, 
' alter ' what does not exist and what never existed ? 

" They tell us upon the other side that the proposed measure 
is revolutionary. I should say, Mr. Speaker, that when you 
consider the causes, the events which brought into existence 
this republic, the noblest of all commonwealths, ancient or 
modern, the application of the term ' revolutionary ' is, to say 
the least, unfortunate. It must have been devised by some 
consummate master of infelicitous expression upon that side 
(and I know there are many there), because it is a matter of 
common knowledge that the people of this country are accus- 
tomed to associate with the term ' revolution ' the idea of inde- 
pendence, of political equality, of civil liberty. 

" If this measure is revolutionary, it is in the high sense in 
which the Declaration of Independence is revolutionary, in the 
same sense in which the Virginia Bill of Eights is revolu- 
tionary, in the same sense in which the Constitution itself is 
revolutionary. Why, to call this bill revolutionary is a contra- 
diction in terms, if what is meant is that in its relation to the 
Constitution and the laws it is revolutionary. Its whole pur- 
pose, aim, and scope, — leaving out of account any question of 
imperfection, of detail, of this or that feature upon which honest 
men may differ as to its being expedient or objectionable, — 
its whole aim and purpose is to conserve, to defend, to save the 
Constitution, and to give equal political rights to every one of 
the people of the United States. [Applause on the Eepublican 
side,] 



220 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" Mr. Speaker, when we consider this bill in these aspects, 
from this standpoint, I think we have a right to repel the 
accusations and insinuations that have been made that this is 
a bill in the interest of partisan aggrandizement. I say here, 
upon my honor as a representative, if I believed that, I would not 
vote for this bill, nor for any section, clause, or line contained 
in it. I want simply fair and free elections, and if the gentle- 
man from Pennsylvania, who last took his seat [Mr. Bucka- 
lew], would reason for one moment, he would be slow to hurl 
at the Committee on Elections of this House these charges of 
unfairness and partisanship. 

"Why, sir, after the most careful scrutiny, after a delay 
which I should think would convince any fair-minded man 
that this matter does not proceed with undue heat or partisan 
haste, we have not seated half the contestants who have come 
before that committee ; and the fact that members have been 
left in their seats because upon our conscientious view of the 
evidence in their cases we were unable to come to a different 
conclusion, when, if we acted from partisan feeling, if all we 
required was a partisan majority, it would have been just as 
easy to seat A as to seat B, the whole seventeen contestants as 
five or six, — that fact, I think, entitles me to resent these in- 
sinuations upon the honor and the conscience of this most re- 
sponsible and honorable committee. Such wild and reckless 
charges savor more of blind partisan frenzy than any act of 
that committee. Mr. Speaker, I look at this question in a 
widely different manner from that of a partisan. I think there 
is a deeper and broader and more pregnant meaning than that ; 
and I reason in this way : The theory of this government vests 
all sovereignty in the people. The only way in which the 
people can exercise that sovereignty is by means of the ballot. 
The ballot is the very breath of life of the body politic. 

" Stifle the ballot and you strangle the body politic, you 
strangle the people. And if a political wrong is done in one 
State of this Union, that wrong causes a thrill, a vibration, a 
shock through every State in the wdiole Union. So perfect, 
Mr. Speaker, is this Union to-day, thank God, — the Union of 
this vast republic, across which ' deep calleth unto deep,' the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, the Gulf to Superior, — so close, so sen- 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 221 

sitive, yet so strong is this fabric, extending over this vast area, 
that a wrong done to the meanest citizen in the remotest corner 
of this Union is felt as a personal wrong to every citizen in the 
most distant part of our land. And it is necessary that this 
feeling should exist, that it should be cultivated. 

" Why, sir, a crime against the ballot is a crime not only 
against the man, the individual, it is a crime against the majesty 
of the State ; it is a crime against the majesty of the United 
States throned here, — here, in this noble Capitol. And if you 
permit a wrong to be done to the humblest citizen, white or 
black, — a political wrong, ' the danger-light upon your char- 
ter,' — that wrong will come home to you in whatever section 
of the country you may live. 

" They tell us, Mr. Speaker, that involved in the question 
before the House is a mighty and stupendous problem ; that 
there is in effect here a race issue ; that we are attempting by 
this bill to establish an empire of ignorance over knowledge, of 
barbarism over civilization, of an inferior race over a superior. 
God forbid ! I would be no party to any movement or measure 
of that sort. But I am surprised that this cry of distress 
comes from that strong race which has trod the earth for a 
thousand years a conqueror. 

" Now, I do not believe that under any law, in any system of 
society, the brute force of Caliban can ever overcome the magic 
power of Prospero's intellect. Only in one case, Mr. Speaker, 
can that result ever follow ; that case is when the master in- 
tellect stoops to use the base and brutish methods of the slavish 
monster at his feet. It is only then that any community is in 
danger from what are called its lowest and its worst classes. 
The kingly power of one man's intellect will sway by the arts 
of justice and truth scores and hundreds and thousands of in- 
ferior beings ; and the same rule is true where one race has 
been accustomed to hold a subordinate position, and the other 
race has always held the position of the superior. 

" I am surprised to hear some of the objections made to the 
constitutionality of this measure. Why, sir, this question is 
discussed in a well-reasoned article in the Federalist, No. 59, 
referring to this very clause, that ' the times, places, and man- 
ner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall 



222 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof ; but the 
Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regula- 
tions, except as to the places of choosing senators.' After 
stating the objections which were made, — not at the time 
when the provision was adopted, but after it was adopted, — 
it is said : — 

" ' In answer to all such reasoning, it was urged that there 
was not a single article in the whole system more completely 
defensible. Its propriety rested upon this plain proposition, 
that every government ought to contain in itself the means of 
its own preservation.' . . . 

" ' A discretionary power over elections must be vested some- 
where. There seemed but three ways in which it could be 
reasonably organized : It might be lodged either wholly in the 
national legislature, or wholly in the State legislatures ; or 
primarily in the latter, and ultimately in the former. The last 
was the mode adopted by the convention. The regulation of 
elections is submitted, in the first instance, to the local govern- 
ments which, in ordinary cases, and when no improper views 
prevail,' — and the question is, whether the views prevailing 
now in some sections are proper or improper, — ' may both con- 
veniently and satisfactorily be by them exercised. But in ex- 
traordinary circumstances the power is reserved to the national 
government, so that it may not be abused, and thus hazard the 
safety and permanence of the Union. . . . 

" ' Nothing can be more evident than that an exclusive power 
in the State legislatures to regulate elections for the national 
government would leave the existence of the Union entirely 
at their mercy.' 

" These sentiments are quoted and approved in the great 
work of Mr. Justice Story upon the Constitution of the United 
States, chap. xi. sec. 814. And Mr. Eawle, a constitutional 
lawyer from the State of Pennsylvania, in his learned work 
upon the Constitution, takes precisely the same view, and ap- 
proves the principles here laid down. I say, then, Mr. Speaker, 
that we have clearly, unmistakably, the right to enact this 
legislation. 

" I have noticed with some care the various objections made 
to the particular plan suggested in this bill. No bill is entirely 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 223 

perfect. There are some provisions here which even now, from 
my standpoint, might be amended and ameliorated. But the 
chief objections which seem to come to these features of the 
bill from the other side relate to extravagance or economy, and 
to expediency. 

"The proposition of the gentleman from North Carolina 
[Mr. Ewart] would seem to be that if he is well off in his dis- 
trict, if I am well off in my district, or another gentleman in 
his, our view should extend not one rod beyond the limits of 
our districts ; that if our neighbor's house is in flames, or if 
robbers and murderers are assaulting him, we should shut our 
doors and go quietly to bed, to ' sleep the sleep of the just.' 

" Now, I admire the chivalrous, noble, public-spirited position 
of the gentleman from Maryland ; and I believe it is more im- 
pregnated and more inspired by the fire of a true American 
citizenship than that of the gentleman from North Carolina. 
We do not live unto ourselves alone. We want justice and 
peace to prevail from one end of the Union to the other. 

"Mr. Speaker, my time is short, and I am not permitted to 
go into the various special features of this bill as I should be 
pleased to do. But I say to my friends on the other side of 
the House, I am not inclined to take any view savoring of 
levity ; I am not inclined to speak lightly or unfeelingly of the 
troubled situation of affairs, — of the disturbed condition of 
political society in their section of the republic. No ; I say 
that grave and appalling problem is one that will tax all the 
genius and all the strength and courage of this invincible 
people to solve. 

" But I take this ground, that Lincoln, giving gifts to men, 
and he gave many, gave liberty to the Afro-American. When 
the shackles are once broken, when they are once removed 
from the body of a man, — and all history and law concur to 
establish this principle, — when they have once been stricken 
off, no power on earth, no power in hell, can put those shackles 
upon that man again ! The Afro-American is enfranchised. 
He has been clothed with citizenship. You cannot extirpate, 
you cannot destroy, you cannot exile him. All that is left for 
us to do, then, is to humanize, to civilize, to educate, to elevate 
him. That is the only path of safety. The freedman has now 



224 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

become a citizen, a unit of sovereignty, an integral part of the 
great people of this republic. 

" The old maxim tells us to do justice though the heavens 
fall. The heavens never fall when justice is done. It is when 
injustice is done that the heavens fall, — in thunderbolts, in 
fire, in ashes, in ' plague, pestilence, and famine, in battle, 
murder, and sudden death.' The duty of our people towards 
the republic in every State, in every congressional district, is 
clear. There is only one path which can be travelled with 
safety. Let justice and equity prevail, let the laws be obeyed, 
give to every citizen his full political rights, and I believe that 
this line of political demarcation between the races will be 
obliterated; I believe that every great obstacle, keeping one 
race from living in amity with the other, will be removed. 

" I remember in the evidence in the Alabama case of Threet 
versus Clarke one striking and vital statement was made in the 
simple, grand language of one of the colored witnesses. Speak- 
ing of the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Clarke] he said : 
' When he held the office of county attorney, he did not know 
black from white. He treated all men alike.' He did justice ; 
and if you judge the cause of the poor and needy, then it will 
be well with you. Then there will be amity, — not necessarily 
social equality ; that is a matter of individual liberty and 
choice ; but you will have, I think, taken the right course to 
cut the Gordian knot now entangling the vitals of the republic. 
[Applause.] You will have done something towards making 
this country a land — 

* Where the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe, 
And the kindly earth shall slnmber Iap])ed in universal law.' 

[Prolonged applause on the Eepublican side.] " 

The ideas of Greenhalge upon the tariff were firm and just. 
He suffered somewhat in his own district because he felt 
obliged to consider the question as a whole, as for the interest 
of the entire country. Many of his constituents wanted free 
wool. He believed it necessary to yield something to gain the 
support of the country ; the interests of no section were para- 
mount. To ask for free wool, and at the same time for a 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 225 

high tariff on textiles, seemed unwise. The "West also should 
benefit by the bill. 

His re-election was said to be endangered by his action, but 
he was moved by no personal consideration. As to the princi- 
ple of free trade, he thought it to be Utopian, a creed of the 
schools. It is needless to discuss the question ; in this he 
stood with his party, with his city, with his neighbors. Free 
trade, even if just, would be intolerable, destructive to the 
interests of his own people. He spoke in the debates upon 
the Tariff Bill, May 16, in part, as follows : — 

" And, therefore, I say that while this bill may in this par- 
ticular or that particular bear unfavorably upon the interests 
of Massachusetts and New England, yet, speaking in that spirit 
of compromise to all sections, and in the spirit of mutual 
concession, I believe that the most important duty of this com- 
mittee and of the House is to stand by the provisions of the 
bill with such amendments as I understand are to be offered 
by the Committee on Ways and Means. . . . 

" But after all the discussion, after all the parade of the 
statistics of the schoolmen, after all the declamations about 
trusts and strikes and mortgages, one great fact remains unal- 
terable, undeniable, unmistakable. The net result of a day's 
labor in the United States is greater than in any other country 
upon which the sun shines; and this is, the great fact, — this 
is the very foundation and bed rock upon which this republic 
is established. Prosperity may shine in palaces, in temples, 
in the market, in the factory, in forest and field, but is a delu- 
sive and evanescent light, a will-o'-the-wisp, unless it shines 
first of all and brightest of all in the humble dwellings of the 
land, occupied by the self-respecting citizens of America, — 
the millions who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow. 
The happiness of a country is measured, not by the condition 
of a few favored by chance, by birth, by genius, but by the 
condition of the great army of workingmen and working- 
women. " 

Greenhalge was devoted to the ideas of Civil Service Eeform. 

He was one of the first reformers. His broad statesmanship 

made it to him a fundamental question ; it seemed strange to 

15 



226 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENEALGE. 

him that it should need defence, that there could be two ideas 
about it. He believed the Eepublicans to be pledged to sup- 
port the principle. To attack it indirectly through the appro- 
priations seemed to him hypocritical. The principle had been 
written upon the statutes of the United States. He believed 
it to be a poor policy to skulk and to stab the law, as it were, 
in the dark. The dignity of Congress demanded that it should 
be supported. He said during the debates in the House : — 

" I stand here as a civil-service reformer, if I am only one 
of a dozen in this House. I did not expect to be called upon 
to defend this principle, in which I believe there is life and 
energy and immortality. I did not expect to be called upon 
by my Eepublican associates on this floor to defend what I sup- 
posed had been written into the political law of the Eepublican 
party. I did not expect to hear these attacks from the other 
side when I remembered that the same political principle had 
been written into their platform. Why, Mr. Chairman, are 
we to stand here as mere hypocrites and humbugs ? Are 
we to listen quietly to these statements, that when we write a 
declaration into a party platform we do not mean it, but that 
we consider it is put in for ' buncombe, ' and as the most mean- 
ingless sentimental declamation ? Mr. Chairman, in my 
assignment to the Committee on Elections, I have been placed 
in a position, fortunately or unfortunately, which has required 
my action in this House to be such as could not fail to awaken 
violent political feeling upon one side and the other, and 
necessarily so ; but, speaking in the spirit of some of the noble 
and high-minded declarations made by the gentleman from 
South Carolina [Mr. Cothran] yesterday — and I wish to God 
we had more such judicial and honest expressions of opinions 
in this House upon both sides — speaking in that spirit, I say, 
I do not believe that when the Democratic party wrote that 
principle into their platform they were hypocrites and liars, 
or wrote it simply to deceive the American people. " 

After the close of the first session of Congress Greenhalge 
returned to his home in Lowell. In the ensuing campaign he 
was almost immediately engaged in an unremitting series of 
political duties. There was to be no rest for him ; his career 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 227 

in Congress had made him famous ; his name was spread far 
and wide. He had done his work well, and it was admitted 
by friend and foe alike that he had displayed eminent abilities 
as a debater and achieved a success almost unparalleled for a 
new member. He could not but have thought that he had 
paved the way for further success, and that his future course 
in politics would in a measure be easy and uninterrupted. 
He came home crowned with success, and looked forward to 
a triumphant vindication at the polls, both for himself and the 
great party he served so well. But while this great Congress 
was engrossed in the performance of the duties which devolved 
upon it, while the men that formed it were busily engaged in 
the service of their country, devoting themselves with self- 
sacrificing ardor to what seemed to them the great tasks of 
patriotism and duty, — while they were so active in behalf of 
what seemed to them the best interests of the nation, calumny 
and misrepresentation had also been busy. The power of a 
shibboleth had made proselytes in every State. The political 
pendulum had oscillated to the opposite extreme ; the country 
had deserted them. The knowledge of this change in public 
opinion was slow in coming to Greenhalge and to his peers in 
Congress ; they could not reasonably foresee it, nor understand 
it when it came ; they looked to receive their reward, and they 
found only contempt. They had fought one of the hardest 
fights ever fought in Congress, as they thought, for the good of 
the country, and returned from it to find the country ranged 
upon the opposite side ; they returned home crowned with 
laurel to find themselves discredited and discarded. It was a 
sudden turn of Fortune's wheel. 

It must have come with peculiar bitterness to Greenhalge, 
who had achieved so much in so brief a time, who was so 
thoroughly convinced of the greatness and true intent of the 
Fifty-first Congress, who so firmly believed in the Republican 
party, who had neglected his own interests during the cam- 
paign, speaking only once in his own district while devoting 
his whole time to the party and addressing audiences in every 
part of the State, leaving his own election entirely to the good- 
will of his friends and to the justice of his cause. His ser- 
vices were unremitting during this campaign. He spoke in 



228 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

most of the cities of the Commonwealth ; he gave himself, 
heart and soul, to the conHict, and awaited the invisible event 
with confidence. Everywhere his speeches were received with 
popular applause ; it seemed as if the Eepublican party must 
triumph, and it met overwhelming defeat. Perhaps active 
politicians are the less likely to foresee the defeat of their 
party, because the same enthusiasm prevails at their rallies on 
the eve of disaster as of victory. During campaigns their 
orbit is one of ovations and triumphs. The old guard is always 
around them, but they see nothing of the hosts, it may be, 
of deserters. 

In this political crisis the Mugwumps played a conspicuous 
part, — if they were not as important as they seemed to be. 
Greenhalge did not look upon this party, or shred of a party, 
with much bitterness. He had, of course, respect for principle 
of any kind, and he got much apparent amusement out of the 
Mugwumps. He had much to say about them in his speeches, 
and received some hard blows from their political organs. 

Greenhalge was perfectly fearless and independent. He 
himself had revolted from the Eepublican party. He pre- 
ferred to see a good Democrat in office to a base Eepublican. 
Yet he differed entirely in his views from those held by the 
Independents, so called, at this time ; he could not see the 
justice of their course of action. He believed the Democratic 
party to be more corrupt and incompetent than the Eepublican 
party, yet he could sympathize with a good and stanch Demo- 
crat. He could not sympathize with the Mugwumps because, 
though he may have thought them sincere patriots, he believed 
them to be unjust, prejudiced, and partial. He saw, too, the 
humorous side of the situation in any apparent league between 
men like Eliot and Everett and politicians like Hill, — between 
Harvard and Tammany. 

The Mugwumps were undoubtedly sincere and patriotic. 
There always have been Mugwumps; they represent a very 
old party indeed, old as the political contests in the ancient 
Greek cities. The chief fault in their position is that it is an 
impractical one, — like the Eoman patriots who, to escape the 
evils of the senatorial system and the domination of Pompey, 
threw themselves into the arms of Caesar ; they gained nothing, 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER, 229 

in the eyes of Greeuhalge at least, by their desertion of the 
institutions of their fathers. The intentions of the Indepen- 
dents were strictly honorable, but honest wedlock with either 
party was not their desire ; they were not tired of unchartered 
liberties. They put too much faith in the promises of Csesar. 
Such was the idea, as a Eepublican, of Greenhalge. 

Soon after his return to Lowell he was selected as chairman 
of the Eepublican State Convention, which was held that year 
in Tremont Temple, Boston. His speech before the conven- 
tion, September 17, increased his reputation as an orator. 
From the Republican standpoint it was a masterly effort. It 
reviewed the history of the party's legislation in Congress, and 
touched upon the points of the coming election. His appear- 
ance on the platform was the signal for great enthusiasm on 
the part of the vast audience, and his reception showed how 
much he had raised himself in the estimation of the Eepubli- 
can party in Massachusetts by his career in Congress. He 
had become one of its chief representatives in the State, and 
the convention applauded him to the echo. In a passage of 
his speech, he said : " I never say harsh things of my Inde- 
pendent friends; more in sorrow than in anger, I note their 
inconsistencies. They are eloquent in denouncing Quay and 
Dudley, but how much more eloquent is their silence as to 
Hill and Gorman and Higgins and Brice and Croker and 
Mayor Grant ! " In closing, he spoke in elegant and eloquent 
language of the Eepublican party, and of the fair prospects 
which he thought lay before it : " Gentlemen, the Eepublican 
party is at the helm ; the ship of State moves gallantly on ; 
everywhere we see ' beauty and life and motions as of joy, ' 
We see new hope and strength in the civil service of the 
country, now daily improving in efficiency under the vigorous 
management of the present commission ; there is new life in 
the army and navy, — in every department of the government. 
Under the influence of this vitality the gavel of Eeed becomes 
as the hammer of Thor, and its every stroke is a victory for the 
people, for business, for human rights, for law. Watch the 
operations of the new vital force as manifested in foreign 
affairs ! See how it sparkles on the rocks of Samoa, as if 
American diplomacy were inspired by the glory won there by 



230 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

American seamanship ! See how it touches and warms the 
chilly waters of Bering Sea ! ... It is well with the nation 
and well with the State ; greater prosperity shines before us. " 

With such hopes for the future and congratulations for the 
past, Greenhalge and the Eepublican party entered upon the 
campaign. There were omens and signs of coming disaster, 
but they were not visible to the active participants in the 
struggle. October 1, 1890, Greenhalge was unanimously re- 
nominated for Congress. The delegates received him with the 
same enthusiasm as did the convention, and his speech of 
acceptance was strong and hopeful, like his oration before the 
State delegates. 

As usual, Greenhalge did not pursue his own personal 
advantage in this campaign ; his own election he disregarded, 
and made no personal effort to obtain it. He exerted himself 
energetically for the party, and delivered speeches all over the 
State; but only once did he speak in Lowell, — on the eve of 
the election he addressed a large audience in Huntington HalL 
Signs were not wanting that all was not going prosperously in 
his district, but he had been absent and far too busy to observe 
them. He evidently thought his election assured. He must 
have felt that he had earned it. 

The author well remembers the last night of the campaign. 
Greenhalge was fatigued by his arduous labors, yet he spoke 
with his usual vim. He referred to the tone which had pre- 
vailed during the campaign ; with some feeling he said, " These 
contests are contests between friends and neighbors, and never 
in any political, professional, or other combat have I struck a 
man a foul blow. " When he retired to rest that night, it was 
probably with confidence in the event of the morrow ; the 
morning, however, revealed a disaster. His own defeat he bore, 
as usual, with equanimity if not nonchalance ; he could be 
witty as usual at his own expense. There was a salve in tlie 
very extent of the defeat; it could not be taken in a personal 
sense. 

The vote for Congress in his own district resulted in a plu- 
rality of 563 for his opponent. The ballots cast for Green- 
halge were 11,205 in number; as it was, he ran ahead of his 
party. 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 231 

Referring to his defeat, he said, " I expected to carry my 
own district by a small plurality. If I had thought differently 
I would have given it more attention. I do not think it was 
anything personal against me that caused my defeat, for I ran 
ahead of my ticket in Lowell and in many of the towns. And 
you will observe, " and there was a twinkle in his eye, " that 
I carried Dunstable. " 

This was a period of deep gloom in the Eepublican party. 
Greenhalge returned to Washington and found the party 
leaders very much downcast and disheartened. His own 
standpoint was brighter, and he still looked forward with 
confidence. 

The following letter expresses his own feelings and those of 
his friends : — 

December 11, 1890. 

Mr. Andrew and other Democrats here think the Eepubli- 
can party has gone forever. Cogswell is bluer than blazes, and 
Lodge, after listening to Andrew and Cogswell, was bluer than 
Cogswell. I do not agree with these prophets. I think the 
Republican party has much to change and much to do, but it 
still lives. I find satisfaction in thinking I am out of the 
press at such a time as this. Some people will begin to realize 
what the recent elections have accomplished. I was disap- 
pointed in the city election. But let the disaster be as com- 
plete as possible to stir the people to action. 

The regrets for Greenhalge 's own defeat were widespread. 
His speech before the Convention of Massachusetts Republicans 
had been received with congratulations by people of the highest 
standing in the party, and by men noted for intellectual power. 
The letter following was written after his return to Washing- 
ton from the convention. It refers to some of the praise his 
speech called forth. 

" Curtin has been in, fresh from Cambridge. He says ' One 
of the great ones ' — who, he won't say — ' declares that for 
the first time the true type of the Sophist or Rhetor has entered 
into American politics. ' 

" This, Curtin says, is the grandest compliment that could 
be paid me ; and he says that I have now a standing in the 



232 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Eepublican party and the country which would make anything 
possible ; all of which is simply an emphatic national way of 
declaring that the speech was a success. " 

After his return to Washington Greenhalge addressed the 
House only twice. The first time, January 16, he made a 
memorable reply, already noted in these pages, to Congressman 
Stone of Missouri, after his speech attacking Massachusetts. 
His second speech was in relation to the Civil Service Bill of 
that year. There was again a disposition on the part of Con- 
gress to withhold the appropriation necessary for the clerical 
expenses of the commission. Greenhalge, together with Lodge, 
succeeded in their effort in behalf of the commission. Green- 
halge said : " It would be unreasonable to expect that the annual 
appropriation should go through without the annual attack [by 
the enemies of the bill] ; but our party and the party on the other 
side have declared in favor of the principle, and I believe in 
standing to a resolution whether it wins or loses. I respect even 
the utterances of ex-President Cleveland ; they show courage, 
whether those utterances are in favor of free trade, in favor of 
Civil Service Eeform, or against free coinage. For God's sake 
let us have some men in this republic who have the courage 
of their convictions. If it be true that a majority of this 
House — a majority of the Eepublican side, or a majority of 
the Democratic side — desire to wipe this law from the statute- 
book, let it be done in a manly fashion, and let those who do 
it take the responsibility. Do not let them rise to some mere 
parliamentary punctilio. The people care nothing about that. 
We are here as to things of substance, not after matters of 
form. " 

Greenhalge 's congressional term was now drawing to a 
close. His short and brilliant career ended in the midst of a 
general calamity to his party. The results were so tremendous 
to the Eepublicans that the defeat of any single person was 
scarcely remarked. Had Greenhalge been defeated in quiet 
times, the event would have evoked extraordinary attention 
through the country ; for his success had been singular, — 
scarcely to be paralleled by the career of any new and untried 
member. As to the impression he created upon the Congress, 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 233 

we are fortunate in having the testimony of his peers, the 
witnesses of his triumphs ; friends and foes alike were 
impressed. 

Senator Lodge shared with him in all the conflicts and labors 
of Congress. There could be no better judge of the effect of 
his oratory upon the House. I have included in these pages, 
therefore, the following passage from his eulogy delivered in 
Mechanics' Hall, Boston: — 

" The Fifty-first Congress was not a peaceful one. It was 
the second Republican Congress since the days of Grant, and 
the party majority hung by a slender thread. There was a 
great work to be done, — nothing less than the reform of the 
rules, and the restoration to the majority of its rights and 
responsibilities. 

" The opening days of the session were marked by great 
turbulence, and all the known tactics of obstructive parliamen- 
tary warfare were resorted to by a resolute and defiant opposi- 
tion. It was a time which demanded the best resources of 
trained and experienced leadership, and there seemed to be 
but a slight opening for new and untried men. When the 
House organized and the committees were announced, Mr. 
Greenhalge found himself placed on the committees on Elec- 
tions, Eevision of the Laws, and Reform in the Civil Service. 
To the first of these committees was intrusted the important 
function of hearing and deciding contests for seats, of which 
there was an unusually large number in this Congress, most 
of them coming from Southern States. 

" Party feeling ran high, and the debates which followed the 
various reports on election cases provoked great partisan bit- 
terness. To the work of this committee Mr. Greenhalge de- 
voted himself with his accustomed energy and ability. 

" The first case to be called up was the one of Smith versus 
Jackson, from West Virginia. During this debate Mr. 
Greenhalge made his maiden speech. The occasion could not 
have been more happily selected. The House was crowded 
and the interest was intense. His analysis of the legal points 
involved was lucid and convincing, and the whole speech was 
tinged with a delicious satire which caught the House at once. 
At the close he was accorded hearty and enthusiastic applause. 



234 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

The House recognized at once that he was a sound lawyer, a 
brilliant speaker, and a strong debater; and the opinion of the 
House on those points is of the best, and is not easily won. 
It was a triumph for a first speech. Henceforth his place was 
secure, and he became at once one of the leaders of the House. 
His reputation thus made, he found himself beset by every 
contestant for assistance. These appeals he found it difficult 
to resist, and he did much effective work in placing these 
election controversies before the House. The amount of labor 
involved in sifting evidence in each case was immense, but 
the reward came in the form of an established legal and forensic 
reputation. " 

Greenhalge left Washington at the end of his term and re- 
turned to his quiet home at Lowell without personal regrets. 
It is probable that he considered that his public service was 
over, for some years at least, and that (under the circumstances) 
" the post of honor was a private station. " 

He had achieved much in a very short time. Besides the 
speeches in Congress, he had made many brilliant addresses 
before lesser audiences. The fame he had acquired brought 
him many invitations to speak at public meetings. Upon one 
notable occasion especially he spoke very finely. May 21, 
1890, together with Hon. N". C. P. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, 
he delivered an address before the Humane Society from the 
pulpit of All Souls' Church, Washington. Speaking of this 
noble charity, he said : " It rises among other charities like the 
Parthenon among other temples. Nay, more. You have seen, 
in pictures or reality, the grandest cathedrals in the world, 
splendid with their airy pinnacles, their groined arches, and 
their storied windows, or you have read Euskin's description 
of them, more splendid still. These are the temples of the 
living God. But when you take a child and begin your 
labors upon his body and soul, you are at work upon a grander 
structure still, — the living temple of the living God. " 

Greenhalge came to be considered by many Democrats as an 
extreme partisan. His speeches excited the wrath of that 
party. It was reported that Congressman OTerrall, of Virginia, 
had written a letter to a prominent Democrat in Greenhalge 's 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 235 

district, telling him that national and Democratic necessity 
demanded the defeat of Greenhalge. " He is by far the most 
dangerous man on the Kepublican side. " 

Greenhalge had never before been regarded as a blind par- 
tisan even by the Democrats ; it was not true that he had 
become such. The patronage of his office was not desired as 
a personal attribute by him, and was not used by him in a 
merely partisan spirit ; he re-appointed a Democrat as post- 
master at Concord, Massachusetts ; the appointment of Mr. 
Burbank as postmaster at Lowell justified itself; even before 
his appointment, Greenhalge had tried to induce the Kepub- 
lican City Committee to select a candidate for that office, but 
they had refused his request. In his choice of Mr. Burbank, 
he ran contrary to the wishes of many in his own party, and 
his independence was plainly manifest. His career in Con- 
gress w^as not viewed by all the Democrats in that body as a 
purely partisan one. On the contrary, it called forth the praise 
of some of them for its fairness. Hon. J. H. O'Neil, who was 
one of his Democratic associates in the House, has spoken of 
his independent course on the Committee of Elections. 

As to the accusation of partisanship in Congress brought 
against him by some. Judge Lawton says : — 

" To those who never thoroughly knew Greenhalge it seemed 
as if his temperament changed at that time, as if it had been 
melted in a furnace-blast and had been transformed and hard- 
ened. It was not so. He was the same Greenhalge who had 
been a non-partisan mayor, — almost a non-partisan member of 
the General Court of Massachusetts. 

" There had been a clean-cut division between the two great 
parties of the country. There had been a canvass of votes on 
a great question of national commercial policy. Both parties 
wanted the best, but they differed as to what was best. He 
was there as an instructed representative of one side of a prin- 
ciple of trade and revenue for which he must fight. The vote 
had fairly been taken before he and his colleagues had been 
sent to Washington. On such an issue he would no more 
desert his party than he would desert his client in court, no 
more than he would desert his colors on a field of battle. 
There never had been so heated a contest in any Congress over 



236 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

the seats of members as in this one. Greenhalge was a 
member of the committee of the House to whose consideration 
were referred all these contested seats. He had always been 
fair and judicial in his treatment of his political opponents, 
and he was at this time. It is not necessary to make the claim 
in these pages that he was right in all the cases of these con- 
tested seats, and that the opposition in that House was always 
wrong. There would be an impropriety in a claim that he was 
always right when he differed from his own party associates 
on that committee. One fact will be enough. Of all his party 
in that committee, on that question he was the most conserva- 
tive ; of them all, he conceded the most seats to the opposition. 
He respected the opinions of his party friends and believed 
them to be conscientious. When their report was made up, 
modified, and restricted by his influence, he felt that it was 
reasonably fair, and felt bound to give it his support. So much 
had the conclusions of the committee been modified by his 
efforts, his fellow-members placed upon him a great part of the 
work of maintaining them before the House. In a succession 
of speeches and debates, he presented his cases with wonderful 
eloquence and great logical power. Thus, although in his first 
term, he sprang into eminence at once. If he was fortunate 
in the Congress to which he had been sent, fortunate in the 
crisis, and in the white heat at which party conflict glowed, he 
was doubly fortunate in that he had gone there endowed and 
equipped to meet every emergency that arose." 

As soon as the defeat of Greenhalge became known, many 
of the Eepublican papers while commenting upon it took the 
occasion to put his name forward witli flattering praise as a 
candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in the next election. 
Tlie desire for his candidature continued to find expression in 
the papers and among the people, until in 1891 he was one of 
those most prominently mentioned for that high office. He 
himself, however, appeared to have no desire to become again 
a candidate for any office. He refused afterwards to run again 
for Congress, and seemed to consider his political career as 
over, at least for the present. He looked forward to the enjoy- 
ment of a more restful life, and to the practice of his profession, 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 237 

long interrupted by his political duties. There is no doubt but 
that he felt his defeat severely, the more because it was un- 
expected, and came after so brilliant a term in Congress. He 
never despaired of his party, however, and to its service con- 
tinued to give his untiring support during the campaign in 
1891 upon the stump, and won golden opinions for his unselfish 
devotion to the Republican cause. 

In the spring of 1891, in an interview he said, referring to 
the prominence of his name as a candidate for governor : " I 
have stated frequently, and with some formality and empha- 
sis, my position as to the nomination for governor. More than 
three months ago the question was asked me whether I would 
accept the nomination if tendered me. I replied that however 
good the possibility of such a thing, my circumstances would 
prevent my being a candidate. I reiterated my position at 
Melrose at a public banquet, March 12, and on various other 
occasions. I have every confidence that the Republican party 
wall be successful in the coming contest, and I believe that any 
one of the persons whose names have been suggested would 
be elected. I am devoting myself at present to my private 
business and private interests, which have been much neglected 
and impaired by my public service. I think I have a right to 
attend to these matters now and for some time to come." This 
interview and the decided manner of his refusal could not alto- 
gether put a stop to the expression of the desire of many people 
for his candidature, but practically the question was settled, 
and it became evident that another candidate must be found. 
He was selected for chairman of the Committee on Rules in 
the Republican Convention, and his acceptance of that office 
was still further evidence of his position as to the governorship. 

The party platform which he wrote for the convention was 
a highly finished paper, and called forth numerous compli- 
mentary comments. The convention finally nominated a 
fellow-townsman of Greenhalge, Mr. Charles H. Allen, as the 
Republican candidate for governor. There was not an ounce 
of jealousy in Greenhalge's nature, and he gave his earnest 
support to the party and its candidate. It was not a dis- 
appointment to him ; he was out of the race, and by his own 
desire. 



238 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

It was fortunate, in view of his political career, that he was 
not a candidate. The Eepublican reaction had not yet set in ; 
the popvilarity of Governor Eussell was very great; and the 
election of any one to the office of governor by the Republicans 
would have been doubtful in the extreme. " There is a tide in 
the affairs of m.en that taken at tlie flood leads on to fortune." 

Two years later Greenhalge found his great opportunity. 
At this time, however, he was not a candidate for any political 
office ; he had no ulterior views in his refusal to become a can- 
didate ; he desired rest from his political labors, and to give 
his attention to his private business and the practice of his 
profession. The campaign resulted in the re-election of Gov- 
ernor Russell ; but, as before, the Republicans, disappointed by 
the defeat of the head of the ticket, were successful in the 
election of other State officials, and in carrying the House of 
Representatives and the Senate. The State was still Repub- 
lican, with a Democratic governor. The year preceding his 
own election by the people to the governor's chair was singu- 
larly eventful : in the business world a year of unexampled 
depression ; it was a time of trial to the American people, 
and the uneasy spirit of the nation bore it with growing im- 
patience and distrust of the Democratic party. 

At this time, however, the Eepublican party was defeated 
and discredited, and in his hours of leisure Greenhalge wrote 
numerous editorials for the press, which appeared in various 
papers, sharply criticising the Democratic policy. They at- 
tracted considerable attention, and were notable contributions 
to the political controversy. They were admirable mstru- 
ments of attack. Their sarcasm was biting and their invective 
powerful. They were partisan efforts, and directed with great 
effect at the weak spots in the Democratic regime. Being 
written by him, they have not suffered like his speeches from 
bad reports. 

As they are interesting from their incisive style, and as the 
productions of such a man, I have included one of the best 
of them in these pages. It appeared in the " New York 
Recorder," Jan. 10, 1892, It was written to serve a party 
purpose. It is necessarily thoroughly partisan and aggressive 
in its tone. 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 239 

THE DEMOCRATIC SITUATION. 

At the opening of the year 1892, we may note many unmis- 
takable indications tliat a critical period has been reached in 
the political affairs of the United States. A glance at recent 
political events may be useful in an examination of the present 
situation. 

The Democratic party achieved a great victory in 1890. 
But the victory was more apparent than real. It would seem 
that there was dissatisfaction with the Eepublican party, but 
it is not at all clear that this feeling led to satisfaction with 
the Democratic party. The Fifty-first Congress undertook a 
series of herculean labors, any one or two of which would 
have been sufficient pabulum for a political campaign in an 
off year following hard upon the inauguration of an admin- 
istration compelled either by duty or pressure to make many 
appointments to office and necessarily a great many more 
disappointments. But this Congress performed gigantic feats. 
It passed the Silver Bill, a measure of colossal proportions, 
which, while holding back the strong tide of free-silver senti- 
ment, maintained the true standard of value in money. The 
Pension Bill was an act of justice and gratitude worthy of 
a great nation anxious to keep its plighted faith with its 
defenders, and preferring to give more than justice required 
rather than less. The Tariff Bill was another great stroke of 
legislation, of which we may say that few or none of the evils 
prophesied in regard to it have come to pass, while many 
benefits unforetold have followed in its wake. The act for 
the Eelief of the Supreme Court, the Anti-Lottery Bill, the 
Anti-Trust Bill, the Administrative Custom Bill, the Direct 
Tax Bill, the French Spoliation Claims, and a dozen other acts 
of equal importance are among the works of this indefatigable 
body. In addition to all these acts of legislation, the great 
ruling of Speaker Eeed made a new era in the parliamentary 
history of the United States. 

Now, the people are not specially gifted with receptivity, — 
not even the people of this country. Their power of assimila- 
tion is limited. The vigor, the push, the onward movement 
of the Fifty-first Congress within so many legislative fields, 



240 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

coupled with the bold iconoclasm displayed in the destruction 
of a parliamentary precedent at least a century old, took the 
people off their feet. The banquet was too rich, the food too 
strong. There may be too much even of a good thing. The 
Fifty-first came nearer to fulfilling its pledges to the country 
than any preceding Congress, and the people were taken aback. 
They were not used to this sort of thorough and effective work, 
or to the fulfilment of pledges in such a complete and pains- 
taking way. 

It was out of the vacillation and surprise of the people, 
then, that in 1890 an ostensible Democratic triumph arose and 
the Fifty-second Congress came into existence, — 

" Monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens, ciii kimen ademptum." 

While there have been noticeable signs of reaction in almost 
every election held in 1891 throughout the country, signs of 
more significance may be observed in the victorious Democracy 
itself. The original or simple elements of the recent Democratic 
party — as it may be termed, in contradistinction to the com- 
pact, homogeneous body which marshalled itself under the party 
banner up to 1884 — do not appear to be specially adapted to 
coalescence. There are the Democratic party of 1880, and the 
Democratic party of 1884, It was the moving spirit of the 
party of 1884, the party of Cleveland, the pseudo-Democratic 
party, in mechanical, not chemical, union with Tammany, with 
the Farmers' Alliance, with the pro-silver faction and with 
every vagrant, anarchical element in the country, which achieved 
the victory of 1890. And the renegade Eepublican — the In- 
dependent, the Mugwump — is the differentiating factor in the 
party of 1884 in comparison with the party of 1880, or with 
the genuine Democratic party. Now, when the differentiating 
factor of the party of 1884, the delicate Democrat, the genuine 
Bourbon or Tammany Democrat, the pro-silver Democrat, the 
O'Neil Democrat (for " the rift in the lute " of the New Eng- 
land Democracy is quite noticeable), all come together in Uncle 
Sam's barn, there is not that complete and intense satisfaction 
and harmony which would naturally and ordinarily be the con- 
comitant of a " famous victory." The first note struck in the 
Fifty-second Congress is a discord, and one which will echo 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 241 

through the session and through the party for a long time. 
The music of the cats this time is not conducive to the increase 
of the breed ; there is a Kilkenny strain about it which must 
disturb the thoughtful minds of the party. With an immense 
preponderance, apparently, of the Democratic power in the 
House, with a phenomenal numerical majority, the representa- 
tives of the party have tumbled over each other, have fought, 
stretched, and pulled hair inter se to such an extent that if a 
Democrat whose eyes have been gouged out by some friendly 
hand should ask, like the blind Spartan, to be placed with his 
face to the enemy, the chances are that in the present prevailing 
confusion he would find that his hostile vis-a-vis was a sterling 
Democrat. Even old Mother Herald recognized the solemnity 
of the situation, and crazed by the shabby treatment given to 
her bantlings, declares spitefully and significantly that " the 
Democratic party can win next year if the breach in it is 
mended forthwith." And then that loyal Mugwump paper, 
" Harper's Weekly " exclaims in shrillest tones, " What breach ? 
Is the defeat of Mr. Mills evidence of a breach ? " and proceeds 
to lecture the angry old pedagogue the " Herald," its quondam 
ally, on the subject of breaches, and finally caps the climax by 
arraying the names of Quay, Elkins, Dudley, and Piatt as 
representatives of the Republican party against the shining 
names of Hill, Gorman, Crisp, and the leaders of Tammany 
Hall as the representatives of the Democracy ; which to the 
Mugwump turned Democrat is the unpardonable sin, coming 
from a Republican turned Mugwump. Here again, is a breach. 
Mr. Curtis quarrels with the "Boston Herald." Let us de- 
voutly pray that Mr. Godkin of the " Evening Post " may not 
attack the " Springfield Republican," as nothing would be left 
but "the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds." This 
journalistic "School for Scandal" has been teasing the honest 
Sir Peter Teazles of political life for a long time ; it would be 
only poetic justice if the old vixens should at last fall foul of 
each other, and any honest man would be delighted to see 
fair play. 

It is clear, however, that a " line of cleavage " begins to 
manifest itself in the victorious Democratic party, and it is, 
perhaps, as apparent among the aesthetic camp-followers of 

16 



242 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

the party, the delicate and dilettante Democrats, who joined 
the party simply to use it as a beast of burden for certain 
leading ideas as anywhere else. We see already two opposing 
camps of " Independents." As previously intimated, there is 
on the one side the Kepublican turned Mugwump and on the 
other the Mugwump turned Democrat, with all that the term 
implies. Mr. Curtis is the only survivor known to the public 
of the true Mugwump, the genuine, simon-pure type ; all others 
are spurious. He has not bowed the knee to the Baal of 
Tammany, even when Mr. Cleveland stood as an acolyte at the 
altar, lighting the devotees to worship. It is possible that he 
still cherishes some tenderness for the rights of men, for the 
sanctity of the ballot, for honest money, for sound education, for 
progress and decent government ; and believes that the matter 
of raising a revenue or even the triumph of Mr. Cleveland is 
not the only burning question before mankind to-day. And 
it may be that he is not quite determined yet with which of 
the great parties he will cast in his lot, or whether he will 
with either. This is a genuine and respectable independence, 
not a sham, an imposture, masking Democracy. The spurious 
Independent is not an exhilarating subject to anybody, not 
even to himself. The importation of slaves was prohibited by 
the Constitution after the year 1808, but whether by erasion 
of this section of the Constitution or not, the importers cer- 
tainly have slaves here, and they are found in the ranks of the 
Mugwumps turned Democrats. They are now engaged, when 
dyspepsia permits, in a chemical analysis of the American 
flag, which it seems is simply a " textile fabric of three colors," 
etc. The vivisection of his own grandmother by one of these 
gentlemen to ascertain the true springs of natural emotion will 
probably follow in due course. The Tammany tiger had no 
terrors for him until a stroke of his paw upsets the Cleveland- 
Mills "combine," and then the true inwardness of the tiger 
was revealed to the aspiring politician of the nursery, who 
went about squalling that the beast was a "horrid thing." 
This is the farcical feature of the political drama now being 
played. There are more serious and portentous developments 
in the play. Bad blood has been engendered in the balky 
Democratic majority of the House, and it is very doubtful if 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 243 

even the sagacious Crisp can educe order out of such a tumul- 
tuary body. 

The simian activity of Mr. Springer will not contribute an 
iota of influence to establish order, discipline, or harmony. 
He is a man of ability, but his ability is not of the construc- 
tive order ; it comes forth only to create or increase confusion. 
He never was in earnest in his life, and he cannot persuade 
anybody now that he is to take any part in the House but 
that of the Lord of Misrule. 

Mr. Crisp could not but fail in arranging his committees ; he 
has satisfied nobody, not even himself. No serious dependence 
can be placed upon Mr. Springer, Mr. McMillen on the Com- 
mittee on Rules will prove an " envious Casca," and Semmes of 
the "Alabama" might better have been trusted with the com- 
merce of the country than Mr. Mills. 

Meanwhile the banners of Governor Hill are flying tri- 
umphant in New York ; Messrs. Gorman, Brice, and Fowler 
are in full control of the Democratic party, and the well-mean- 
ing men who could not endure the wickedness of the naughty 
men in the Eepublican party now find themselves either 
cheek by jowl with Democratic rascals ten times blacker, or 
trampled helpless under the feet of their brutal allies. 

Meantime " God reigns and the Government at Washington 
still lives." President Harrison meets every exigency, within 
and without, with firmness, wisdom, and dignity. The busi- 
ness of the country flourishes, reciprocity moves on from one 
victory to another, and the protective principle points the way 
to greater development and prosperity. A compact, well-dis- 
ciplined body of eighty-eight Eepublicans is on the alert for 
any opportunity dropped by the clumsy, slipshod majority of 
the House of Representatives. It is a Democratic night, " but 
the morrow is yet to come." 

Greenhalge spoke many times in the campaign of 1891, and 
always before appreciative audiences. 

" He stands, I am assured, upon the threshold of a long and 
distinguished national career." These were the words in which 
Senator Hoar introduced him at a Republican rally in Worces- 
ter. Had he lived, they would surely have come true. 



244 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

There was an attempt on the part of Governor Eussell to 
make a State issue in this campaign in the matter of the 
Governor's Council, which he proposed to abolish altogether. 
Greenhalge refers to this in a speech at Springfield, October 
14. He said : — 

" The Executive Council is as old as the Constitution and the 
Commonwealth. It is, and has ever been, an integral part of 
the Constitution, and yet when the Constitution was adopted in 
1780, the men who made that Constitution had in mind arbi- 
trary power, and the proper limitation and checks upon that 
power. They had had arbitrary governments before, and they 
were bound, if human foresight could permit, never to be under 
the power of arbitrary governors again ; and so while the gov- 
ernor is given certain executive powers which he can exercise 
without the advice and consent of the Council, there are certain 
acts and functions which he cannot perform without the limi- 
tation of the Council and its powers. I think the Governor is 
in error in his construction of this clause in the Constitution." 

After the election of Eussell, Greenhalge was complimented 
by various Democratic organs on his conduct and gentlemanly 
bearing during the campaign. The following passage from the 
" Lowell Sun " contains one flattering notice, noteworthy be- 
cause it was praise from an enemy: "To the credit of Hon. 
F. T. Greenhalge it can be truly said that of all the speakers 
who stumped the State for Allen, he was the only one that did 
not descend to narrowness or appeals to prejudice. He stood 
squarely upon the party platform, and used his oratory hon- 
estly to convert his hearers to Eepublicanism." 

February 22 the Michigan Eepublican Club celebrated its 
seventh anniversary by a banquet in Detroit. It was one of 
the most notable political gatherings in the history of Michi- 
gan. The speakers were men of the most brilliant minds 
and party leaders of the highest class. The speech of Green- 
halge on this occasion was one of the best of those delivered. 
McKinley, Fassett, and Greenhalge were the guests of General 
Alger during their stay in Detroit. 

It had been the hope of the Eepublicans of Lowell that 
Greenhalge would again be their candidate for Congress. He 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 245 

had silently determined against their desire, and, April 4, 1892, 
wrote to the chairman of the Congressional Committee the 
following declination, which was made public. It was a decis- 
ive refusal, and reluctantly accepted by his party. 

Lowell, Mass., April 4, 1892. 

My dear Sik, — In response to frequent inquiries, I think 
it due to the Republicans of this congressional district to state 
that I shall not be a candidate for Congress in this approach- 
ing election. This conclusion is forced upon me by private 
business and the circumstances in which I am placed. 

I announce my position thus early in order that no mis- 
understanding may arise, and that the party may have ample 
opportunity to select a candidate who will assure Eepublican 
success beyond a doubt in the coming contest. 

At the present time, this important district needs more 
than ever a Republican representative in Congress for the 
preservation of its most vital interests. 

Permit me to thank your committee and the Republicans of 
the old Eighth District for the kindness hitherto shown me. 
Respectfully and sincerely yours, 

Frederic T. Greenhalge. 

Albert G. Thompson, Esq., Chairman Congressional District Committee. 

The Republican State convention to elect delegates to the 
presidential convention at Minneapolis met in Boston, April 
20. Greenhalge presented the name of General Cogswell 
in an eloquent speech. The "Boston Herald" said of the 
address: "It was very clever. It was delivered with great 
dramatic effect, and evoked round after round of applause." 
About this time Greenhalge became prominently mentioned 
as a strong candidate for United States Senator in succession 
to Senator Dawes. His popularity was steadily increasing. His 
disinterested course in politics was now fully appreciated, and 
his ability everywhere admired. But he did not seek or desire 
that office, or any other. 

July 8, on being asked if he would accejjt the nomination 
for governor, he replied with emphasis : " No, sir ; I am not 
a candidate for the office in any sense, and have not the slight- 



246 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

est desire for it. I see that Mr. Pillsbury is meDtioned ; he 
would make an excellent canvass." 

In an interview, August 28, Greenhalge expressed his opinion 
as to the situation, predicting success for the Eepublican party. 
Eeferring to the election of 1890, he said : " I was not san- 
guine in 1890. The Fifty-first Congress did such a vast 
amount of work that the people could not possibly accept, 
realize, or digest it. The Fifty-first was the Titan of Con- 
gresses, and it will require years to gain an adequate and lucid 
comprehension of its gigantic labors. But every year the 
forceful and determined character of its legislation, with its 
vast and multifarious scope, and its intelligent purpose and 
beneficial result, will become more and more patent to the 
people. It is — and will in all probability remain — the dis- 
tinctive Congress of the second century of the republic, giving 
direction, tone, and spirit to the country, and setting the pace, 
indeed, for the remainder of the century." 

The Eepublican party, however, were doomed to be disap- 
pointed, and Cleveland was elected. In Massachusetts, Eussell 
was chosen governor for the third time. 

With the advent of the year 1893, a new era dawned for the 
Eepublican party, — a dawn that brightened over the stagnant 
morass of business depression, and over the wrecks of a thou- 
sand commercial failures, and the melancholy figures of de- 
serted and silent mills. In the midst of such distressing 
scenes the sun of Eepublicanism was destined to rise again, — 
brighter for the surrounding gloom. 

Saturday, May 27, the "Boston Globe" contained an inter- 
view with Greenhalge. In it he gave his consent to the use of 
his name in the gubernatorial contest. He consented to be- 
come a candidate. He said : " A nomination tendered with 
cordiality, and coming at a time when an exigency may be 
supposed to exist, is something that must be treated with the 
utmost respect and most careful deliberation. 

"There are circumstances which, barring accidents, might 
make such a proposition seem almost like a command. Pos- 
sibly these circumstances will not arise, or some one else may 
be found who will meet the requirements of the situation." 

Asked as to what the requirements were, he replied : — 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 247 

" I should say in the first place that the needs of the Eepub- 
lican party are consolidation and union, an aggressive stand 
on all Eepublican principles and Kepublican measures, and 
an organization under the fundamental principles of the party. 

" The Eepublican party, of course, is a national party, but it 
is also a State party in that it is interested in good politics and 
good government of counties, cities, and towns, in the main- 
tenance of busiaess prosperity, so far as legislation, whether 
State, national, or municipal, can conduce to that result. Who- 
ever this year fills the requirements of the Eepublican party, 
and is closest in touch with popular sentiment, should be, and, 
in my opinion, will be, the Eepublican candidate for governor. 

" It would hardly become any of the gentlemen whose 
names are mentioned in this connection to anticipate the 
popular will. Thus far I have remained silent, and would not 
have you understand now that I have come to any positive 
and permanent decision. Many prominent Eepublicans and 
a far greater number of the rank and file have pressed me to 
be a candidate, but thus far I have chosen to hold my own 
counsel. I am saying more to you now than I have yet said 
to my most intimate advisers. All I can say is that I mean 
to await the trend of events, which will make more manifest 
the preferences of the Eepublican party. 

"The manufacture of sentiment in this direction has but 
little weight. I take no stock whatever in that. 

" It is my opinion now, as it has been in years past, that 
a fuller and fairer opportunity should be given to the great 
body of the party to choose their candidates. If this is done, 
the responsibility is with the majority, and does not rest upon 
any wing or section of the party, or any combination within 
its ranks, whatever the result." 

This announcement of his position by Greenhalge was the 
cause of great rejoicing among his personal and political friends. 
His canvass from the first made steady progress. July 7 he 
said in an interview published in the " Boston Globe " : "I 
cannot say what the other candidates are doing, but my friends 
tell me that affairs look favorable ; and, indeed, I am surprised 
at the spontaneity of the sentiment which comes to me from 



248 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

all sections. I had not thought it possible that I could have 
so many friends, and while I mention the fact, now mind you, 
I do not say it boastfully, but rather with thanksgiving and the 
utmost gratitude of my nature. I noticed it particularly in 
Newburyport ; and the way in which the people came to me 
there and assured me, all unsolicited, of their support, was 
very gratifying, you may be sure." 

The "Boston Herald," however, looked upon his prospects 
with anything but a favorable eye; it saw no chance for 
him. It said : — 

" It is a matter of surprise that the friends of Mr. Green- 
halge take his candidacy for the nomination of governor as 
seriously as they seem to. It may be that we are entirely 
mistaken, but, judging from the straws that have thus far 
blown within our range of vision, we should say that the 
Lowell statesman would not be likely to poll at the State con- 
vention more than a fifth, or a quarter at most, of the votes 
cast, if he should continue to keep himself in the running. We 
should say that Mr. Greenhalge's support would be larger than 
that of Mr. Hart, but only larger by a small fraction. It may 
be that we are, as we have said, greatly mistaken in this, and 
that there is an undercurrent of Republican sentiment which 
makes a demand that only Mr. Greenhalge's candidacy can 
satisfy. If this is the case in this part of the country, it is 
one of those movements so deep and profound in their char- 
acter as to make no ripple of excitement on the surface." 

In another interview Greenhalge spoke at length upon the 
subject of his candidature. These interviews at the present 
time are interesting as the voice of one who is dead. They 
exhibit in a true light the character of the man, and show the 
serious thought with which he reviewed the responsibility of 
his position. He said : — 

" As to the preliminary contest, I have endeavored to con- 
duct it in a way which would prove to the other gentlemen 
who are candidates my full appreciation of their excellent 
qualities and the pleasant relations that have always existed 
between us. From the beginning I have determined on one 
thing, and that is, not to be outdone in fairness, courtesy, and 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 249 

magnanimity. How this may be determined is for the public 
to decide later. I hope there will be nothing in this prelimi- 
nary campaign that will remain to humble the self-respect of 
any person engaged in it on the part of any candidate. I sin- 
cerely believe this to be the case. 

" From all external indications I am led to believe that the 
sentiment of the Eepublicans of Massachusetts is favorable to 
my candidacy. My only object from the beginning has been 
to get a free, hearty, and sincere expression of their opinion. 

" You may remember I stated to you in my first public utter- 
ance upon this question, when you asked me whether I was a 
candidate and would make any canvass whatever for the nomi- 
nation : ' That depends. A nomination tendered with cordial- 
ity, and coming at a time when an exigency is supposed to exist, 
is something that must be treated with the utmost respect and 
most careful deliberation.' I also said, you may remember, 
' There are circumstances which, barring accidents, might make 
such a proposition almost like a command.' 

" I may say now that the external indications seem to show 
that the condition of affairs then indicated has been realized. 
Furthermore, I will say what I never said in terms before, that 
I am a candidate, and that the nomination tendered under such 
circumstances cannot but be regarded by any citizen of Massa- 
chusetts as the highest honor he could hope to \\m. 

" I feel, of course, the immense responsibility which this state 
of things imposes upon me, but whatever the final result may 
be, I shall always be cheered by the exhibition of respect 
and kindly feeling which Eepublicans, and even men of other 
parties, have evinced toward me, from one end of the common- 
wealth to the other. If any word or act of mine or my friends 
has savored in the slightest degree of discourtesy or bitterness, 
it will be the only source of regret which I have. Thus far I 
have heard nothing of any such manifestations on the part of 
my supporters. 

" I feel a certain repugnance to making any personal state- 
ments which may seem to be tainted with egotism, and I hope 
that in view of the whole situation such a personal aspect may 
be regarded as perhaps a necessity in the case of a man who is 
before the public as at this time I am. 



250 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" The success of the Republican party is our paramount end 
and aim, and whatever may be the result of the action of the 
convention on next Saturday, I shall be found, as in other years, 
fighting the battles of the Republican party in behalf of any 
leader chosen by that party." 

It gradually became evident that Greenhalge was the pop- 
ular candidate of the Republican party. The contest narrowed 
down until it came to be between three candidates, the others 
being Pillsbury and Hart. Mr. Hart early withdrew, but Mr. 
Pillsbury seemed to be a strong candidate. A section of the 
party looked upon Greenhalge as the hustling candidate, — as 
too much of a politician ; his managers were thought to be skil- 
ful manoeuvrers. The " Boston Herald " and other Mugwump 
papers were the leaders of this portion of the party and in 
favor of Pillsbury. 

It would be absurd to-day to regard Greenhalge as a hustler 
and partisan and scheming politician, — him who represented 
in all things the best elements of the Republican party, its 
highest ideal of patriotism and statesmanship. It was also ab- 
surd then ; the people looked upon him with different eyes. 
The motion and impulse behind him was that of the Repub- 
lican party, in all its strength and with all its purity of motive ; 
the impression he had made was deep and lasting. The Boston 
caucuses revealed the strength of his position and led to the 
withdrawal of Mr. Pillsbury. 

Greenhalge spoke again about his candidature as follows: 
"The general good-feeling toward me in spite of my many 
defects and faults has been extremely pleasing to me. My 
friends on the other side dwell a great deal on my tendency to 
sharp language and sarcasm, but somehow it is difficult to find 
on either side anybody who seems to have any but the kindest 
personal feelings." 

October 3 Mr. Pillsbury wrote a letter withdrawing from 

the contest. The letter of Mr. Pillsbury and Greenhalge's reply 

were as follows : — 

Boston, Oct. 3. 

My dear Gkeenhalge, — I am not yet out of court long 
enough to have learned much of the political situation, but 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 251 

without disputing as to the preferences of the delegates, I am 
satisfied that you have a sufficient lead to entitle you to the 
nomination, and that there ought to be no contest over it. 
Under these circumstances I shall act upon the impulse of the 
friendship which has always subsisted between us, and do all 
in my power to promote your nomination with the harmony 
and unanimity which will go far to secure your election ; and 
as my office and official duties disable me from much active 
participation in the campaign, it will give me pleasure, if you 
and your friends desire it, to move your nomination in the con- 
vention. I am as ever, 

Yours truly, A. E. Pillsbuky. 

Lowell, Mass., Oct. 3. 

My deak Pillsbury, — Your kind and manly letter en- 
titles you not only to my gratitude, but to that of every good 
Eepublican in the State. I have decided that whatever contest 
there might be should be carried on in an honorable and kindly 
spirit worthy of the Commonwealth, of the party, and of our- 
selves. This feeling I know has been shared and acted on by 
you and by all engaged in the canvass. I accept with pleasure 
and sincere thanks your kind offer of moving my nomination 
in the convention. This courteous and graceful act on your 
part only strengthens the bond of friendship always subsisting 
between us. 

Yours sincerely and cordially, 

Feedekic T. Greenhalge. 

The convention assembled October 8, 1893, amid great enthu- 
siasm. Greenhalge was nominated by Mr. Pillsbury in a kindly 
and eloquent speech. He said : " He is my friend and I am his. 
He is a whole-souled and high-minded man. He is one of the 
best-known and most popular citizens of Massachusetts in any 
political party. He has had a varied experience in public life 
and in every office which he has held he has recommended him- 
self to advancement. He served his apprenticeship to legisla- 
tion in our House of Representatives, and he served there with 
ability and fidelity. He was elected to the lower House of 
Congress, and it is not too much to say that there he made an 



252 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

immediate reputation as an equal among the first of that body, 
and proved himself not only skilled in legislation, but a master 
of debate. He has demonstrated his capacity for administrative 
office at the head of the government in the flourishmg city in 
which he lives, and the people in Lowell are with him as one man. 
He is an orator whose voice has been heard with delight and 
admiration from the stand and the platform in every part of 
Massachusetts. He is an earnest, a thorough-going, and an un- 
flinching Eepublican. He is from heel to crown a loyal and 
patriotic American. He has every quality of a successful can- 
didate, and every qualification for the great office which it is 
within the power of the Republican party to bestow upon him. 
In his nomination the Republican party will distinguish itself, 
and will make the first step and a long step in a spirited and 
victorious campaign." 

With a tremendous cry of " Aye ! " the motion for the nomi- 
nation of Greenhalge was carried by acclamation. In his speech 
of acceptance, he said, after being received with enthusiastic 
applause : — 

"Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention, — 
I accept the nomination. I accept it as the greatest honor of 
my life, and thank you for it with the deepest gratitude. I 
accept it also as the greatest responsibility of my life, and 
I trust I may assume that responsibility in a spirit befitting 
the confidence you have reposed in me. My deep sense of my 
defects and shortcomings is increased by the high and honor- 
able character of the able and distinguished men whose names 
have been before the party as candidates, and whose patriotic 
action has contributed so much to the harmony of this great 
convention. 

" Gentlemen, the Republican party is indifferent to nothing 
that concerns the welfare of the Commonwealth, or the welfare 
of the nation. To keep Massachusetts foremost among her 
sister States, — peerless among her peers, — none of the great 
agencies of civilization must be neglected or ignored. Educa- 
tion, justice, economy, temperance, equality must still lead us 
on to better government in State, in town, and city. 

" The State must be just to all, subservient to none. Hear 
the words of the fathers in Article VI. of the Declaration of 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 253 

Eights of our Constitution: 'No man, nor corporation, nor 
association of men, have any other title to obtain advantages, 
or particular and exclusive privileges, distinct from those of 
the community, than what arises from the consideration of 
services rendered to the public' In the spirit of these words 
public interests will ever be preferred to private interests. 

" The condition of national affairs must excite our keenest 
solicitude. An indignant country asks the Democratic party, 
'Where is the prosperity of 1892? Give us back that pros- 
perity, with its business, its dividends, its wages.' The reply 
is not satisfactory. While the Kepublican banner floated over 
the Capitol, while Republican laws were administered by Ee- 
publican hands and brains, we had prosperity. Now we are 
awaiting its return. The prospect of vicious legislation scared 
away that prosperity. But the Sherman Act, they say, is the 
root of all tliis evil. Every intelligent man in this country 
knows how and why that act was passed. But the Sherman 
Act is charged to the Eepublican party. That party erected 
a dike to check the flood of free silver. The Democracy 
cry out because the flood here and there breaks through 
the dike. But who prepared the flood except the Democratic 
party ? As well might a Tory censure old Putnam because 
the rail fence at Bunker Hill was not of more scientific 
construction. 

" Now we are all in favor of repeal. The Democratic party 
is in power. We Eepublicans are not such partisans that we 
cannot as patriots thank the President of the United States for 
his patriotic service in behalf of sound money ; and if his own 
party fail him, the Eepublican party will be found — a legion 
of salvation — standing at his back in this patriotic work. We 
say to him, 'Hold the fort, for we are coming.' [Great ap- 
plause.] So we say, ' Eepeal ! ' They say, ' We cannot yet.' And 
their majority in the Senate stands helpless before a corporal's 
guard of garrulous silverites. Let them go, then, to the armory 
of parliamentary weapons, and if their hearts fail them not, let 
them draw from thence the flashing blade with which Thomas 
B. Eeed dealt such valiant blows for the true welfare of 
the country. And they may depend upon it they will have 
as allies the Sage of Worcester, the wisdom and strength of 



254 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

our senior Senator, and the youthful vigor and dauntless intel- 
lect of the delegate from Nahant, Henry Cabot Lodge. 

" If the Democratic party fails of repeal, then we charge 
them with the worst of political crimes, — imbecility and 
impotence. 

" We say another word of advice to the Democratic party : 
The election laws help to secure free and honest elections. 
You have already made elections in some sections a mockery. 
Do not seek to extend your malignant influences to darken the 
free North as you have darkened the South. 

"Again, we would help you to restore prosperity to the 
country. To that end, we say, tamper as little as possible 
with the great revenue system established by the Fifty-first 
Congress, and tell us at once how little evil you intend to 
work. If you do this, every industry will blaze with new light 
from Atlanta to Lewiston. 

" Gentlemen, I believe, and you believe, that the Common- 
wealth of the Pilgrim Fathers, founded on their broad and 
lofty principles — on their righteous and equal laws — is 
safer with the Kepublican party than with any other. What 
thoughtful man will say that Massachusetts is any better — 
in industry or charity, in character or influence, in substance 
or promise — for the three years of Democratic supremacy 
now closing, not soon to be renewed ? Let us, then, in this 
solemn hour, lift high the banner of our party before the face 
of the Lord ! Every good patriot, every business man, every 
loyal soldier, every bread-winner (and we mean to have no 
bread-^oscr under our policy) will look to that banner as the 
symbol of rescue, of safety, of hope. Let the redemption of 
Massachusetts begin to-day ! Gentlemen, I thank you from 
my heart." 

The scenes at the reception of Greenhalge, in Huntington 
Hall, at Lowell, Saturday night, on his return from the conven- 
tion, were never forgotten by those who gathered to honor the 
successful candidate. The audience was made up of his friends 
and neighbors. Democrats and Republicans alike were there 
to welcome him. Greenhalge arrived in Lowell at half-past 
seven. The route from the station to the hall was one blaze of 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 255 

colored lights. The candidate's entrance on the platform was 
the signal for enthusiastic applause. It was genuine feeling 
that animated the vast throng, — a sincere admiration for 
Greenhalge, and, on the part of many, a sincere friendship 
and love. 

Such scenes may be thought common in political contests, 
but there was something on that occasion more than is usual. 
It was in part, at least, a personal tribute to the man, inspired by 
true affection and appreciation. Greenhalge was deeply moved 
himself. His foreign birth had been referred to in the public 
prints, and his spirit of patriotism was aroused and perhaps a 
little hurt. The excitement was intense, and people stood on 
seats to cheer him; he could not make himself heard for some 
time. He began his speech as follows : — 

"Fellow-townsmen, I have only a word to say. It seems 
but yesterday since I stood in this old hall declaiming as a 
high-school graduate Curran's immortal speech on ' Universal 
Emancipation.' 

" Lowell is my adopted city, and to her and to Massachusetts 
I would devote every drop of blood in my body. 

" You know my life. It has not been the best one possible. 
I never claimed that. But I hope that when the One above 
looks it over. He may never find that I have been unjust to 
any man, whatever or whoever he may be, whether he be black 
or white. Englishman or Irishman, Democrat or Eepublican. 

" Lowell is my adopted city. Oh, they are going to make 
that an issue ! Let them dare to do it ! Let any man dare to 
charge me with being an alien to Lowell or the old Bay State ! 
In Lowell are buried the remains of my sainted father and 
mother. Here lies buried my first-born. Here is the home of 
my wife and children. I say that God will have some chosen 
curse to blast the man who dares to take away from me my 
chosen country. 

" You know me. Have I been unfair to any man ? Let any 
man — Irishman, Englishman, black or white — say that I 
ever wronged him ! We want liberality ; we want broadness 
of feeling. 

" Friends of Lowell, I say this : If anything gives me one 
thrill of pride to-night, it is that it is possible for me to bring 



256 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

home this honor that I have received to-day. I have not cared 
for public office for myself. I have been charged with indiffer- 
ence on this account. But I love this city of Lowell and this 
dear old county of Middlesex, and if I can bring to them any 
honor I am willing to exert every effort that lies within me to 
do so. I do want to show that I am not one of the evils of un- 
restricted immigration, and I am going to win and bring home 
to Lowell every honor that it is within my power to obtain." 

The following account of this remarkable meeting is by an 
eye-witness, and well pictures the scene : — 

"Just prior to entering the hall, he was told that a Lowell 
paper had that day deprecated his nomination because he was 
of foreign birth. Being the first speaker, he had practically no 
time in which to prepare what he said upon that subject. With 
the love which he felt for Massachusetts, the taunt which had 
been flung in his face the day of his victory, you can well 
understand, aroused him to the greatest earnestness when he 
spoke. After a few introductory sentences, the following was 
the language used by him : — 

"'They are going to make that the issue, are they? Let 
them do it if they dare ! An alien ? Let the man rise up who 
dares to charge me with being an alien to this Commonwealth, 
to this republic, to this nation. Here are the ashes of my 
father and my mother, of my first-born ; here are the hopes of 
my wife and children, sons and daughters of the Eevolution. 
I say God will have some chosen curse to blast the man, the 
wretch, who dares to take away from me my country ! You 
know me. Have I ever been unfair ? Let any man. Irish- 
man, Englishman, German, African, or Indian, say that I have 
wronged him ! ' 

"As he reached the climax, for a moment I could see but 
dimly through the tears with which my own emotion partially 
blinded me ; but in another instant I discovered that I had 
nothing to conceal, for every eye within the range of my vision 
betrayed the emotion of strong and stalwart men, — men in 
broadcloth and men in overalls ; and in an instant, that audi- 
ence as one man rose to their feet, standing on chairs and set- 
tees, with hands aloft, tears coursing down their faces, and with 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 257 

one long and mighty huzza, which might have reached the 
arch of high heaven, indorsed his sentiments." 

The following letter of Mr. Keed explains itself. It was 
written during the campaign, and bears witness to his high 
appreciation of Greenhalge, and of the talents of the latter dis- 
played in his congressional career. It was a compliment richly 
deserved, and attracted wide attention. Greenhalge's known 
admiration for the character of Reed made it doubly pleasing 
to him : — 

I say to you that Frederic T. Greenhalge is a man worthy 
to be Governor of Massachusetts ; and I say it knowing well 
the splendid list of famous men to which his name will be 
added next November. Frank, generous, high-minded, intelli- 
gent, and capable, he deserves your utmost support. 

With a single exception or two, I know of no one who has 
so commanded the undivided attention of that most jealous 
audience in the world, — the members of the House of Repre- 
sentatives. A man who can hold his own there, can hold it in 
a great many places in this world. 

Thomas B. Reed. 

The political speeches delivered by Greenhalge in this per- 
sonal campaign for the governorship of Massachusetts may be 
considered as his greatest achievements upon the platform, — 
they were an admirable series of addresses. His personal 
efforts were immense and incessant. As a leader he was inde- 
fatigable. He seemed incapable of fatigue. He traversed 
the State from end to end, speaking nearly every night, and 
often twice or thrice on the same evening in different towns 
and cities. Never since the days of Robinson was such a 
campaign. As time went on, the people everywhere became 
interested in the splendid display of vigor by the Republican 
candidate. He was sharply criticised by the Democratic orators 
concerning trivial matters. Their sharpest attacks produced 
little effect. His success on the platform was indisputable ; 
his energy and fire carried the people with him ; his speeches 
rose to the highest standards of political oratory ; he was the 
people's candidate, and they elected him Governor of Massa- 

17 



258 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

chusetts by thirty-five thousand majority over Hon. John E. 
Eussell, the Democratic candidate. 

The victory was not confined to Massachusetts. The Eepub- 
licans were victorious all along the line. It was a time of 
public rejoicing and renewed hope. On the morning of the 
election Greenhalge wrote in his diary : — 

" Tuesday, Nov. 7, 1893. — A bright, clear day, — God's day, 
and, I hope, mine. Election day. I have finished a hard 
campaign, and have done fairly well. I am going to vote 
soon. My dear ones are well. I am well. May all things 
go well." 

Later he writes : " On Wednesday, November 29, I was 
elected governor by 35,677 plurality, — the total vote being, for 
me, 192,613. I ran third on the ticket; and I am a little sur- 
prised that, after a contest for the nomination and a hard fight 
in the campaign, with the objection of foreign birth and former 
contests, I was so well sustained. I am feeling well bodily, 
ready for work, and doing much every day. I want now a 
conference of New England Eepublican governors. I thank 
God for his mercies." 

The following is a good example of the character of the 
speeches delivered by Greenhalge in the course of this cam- 
paign. It was delivered at Taunton : — 

"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends and 
Fellow-Citizens of Bristol County, — I knew that I had 
some friends in Taunton, but I did not know that I had quite 
so many. I thank you for your attendance here to-night to 
listen to the discussion of the great subjects which ought to 
come home to the heart and mind of every thinking man and 
every thinking woman in the Commonwealth. 

" What are the great political and business topics which are 
of the most paramount importance to-day? They are what 
have interested men for many years — for many centuries. 
They are, as ever, the question of the currency ; secondly, of 
taxation ; and thirdly and generally, of business. These mat- 
ters concern every man, no matter to what political party he 
belongs. He must take an interest in those matters. And I 
shall try to speak to-night in such a spirit that it will be less 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 259 

a partisan appeal than an appeal to the reason, the judgment, 
the intelligence of every man of every shade of political creed. 
We talk about taxation. Let us consider that subject for a 
moment as it is connected with the administration of the Fed- 
eral government. It takes a great deal of money, my friends, 
to carry out this great government. It takes a great deal of 
money to insure to you the comforts, the advantages, the 
privileges which the United States of America gives to every 
man, woman, and child under the folds of the Stars and 
Stripes ; and there is not a man in this audience, there is 
not a man in Taunton, who objects to paying a dollar of just 
and equal taxation if he gets the dollar's worth of good govern- 
ment back for it. We then start with the great general and 
fundamental principle that the best party is that party which 
gives to every man an honest dollar's worth of good govern- 
ment for every honest dollar that is taken from his pocket. 
How, my friends, is this matter of Federal taxation regulated 
and carried out ? Let me tell you briefly and simply. It costs 
to carry on the great general government of the United States 
somewhere between 8350,000,000 and $400,000,000 annually ; 
and let me also tell you one pleasant thing at the outset, — 
that while the Democratic party and the Eepublican party 
have been fighting each other for thirty years and more, they 
have been forced, in practical administration, to this important 
conclusion, that to carry on the government a certain amount, 
and they are not wide apart as to the amount, for annual 
expenditure is necessary. 

" I am going to be entirely fair and candid in this matter. 
We have heard much said about a billion-dollar Congress. I 
remember that in the last campaign we replied, or some of 
our friends on the Eepublican side replied, that the Fifty- 
second Congress had actually appropriated and expended more 
than the Fifty-first Congress, the so-called billion-dollar Con- 
gress. But I took this ground all through the campaign, and 
I hold it to-day, that I will not throw it in the face of any 
party if they have spent a little more money than my party 
has spent, if, upon the whole, they can show that their inten- 
tions were good, if they can show that upon the whole the 
expenditures were wisely made; while I might perhaps show 



260 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

some grounds of complaint, while I might say here and there 
was extravagance on the side of the Fifty-second Congress, I 
will say if the two parties can get anywhere near together 
upon that important matter let us agree for the moment on 
one tiling, if we disagree on everything else. So I take the 
expenditure of the Forty-ninth Congress, of the Fiftieth, of the 
Fifty-first, and the Fifty-second, and compare them, and I say, 
without any invidious distinction at this time, we have come 
to one great general result, and that is that it costs something 
between $350,000,000 and $400,000,000, laying aside what we 
may call certain fixed charges, to carry on the government of 
this country. Now, then, I say, the people do not object if that 
expenditure is wisely and intelligently made. The American 
people are not mean, niggardly, or parsimonious. If they find 
that any party has done substantially well in appropriating 
and expending money, they do not go about cavilling, except in 
some cases where politicians of a partisan character are com- 
pelled to make some little partisan capital. But they have a 
right to inquire, ' If you have expended so many millions on this 
or that score, what have you done with the money ? ' And if 
the Administration replies, ' With that we have irrigated the 
arid regions of the West and converted waste places into fertile 
regions,' the people will say, * Well and good, we find no fault 
with that. And what have you done with those thirty or 
forty millions there ? ' ' With that amount of money we have 
built and improved harbors ; we have dug out the channels of 
these rivers here and there ; we have erected fortifications there 
to defend and insure the safety of the country.' And again the 
people say, ' Well and good, we find no fault with that. And 
what have you done with this large amount here ? ' ' With 
that we have seen to it that no veteran of the war should 
suffer from poverty, or should spend his days in any alms- 
house, or his children beg their bread.' And again the people 
will say, ' Well and good. But what have you done with that 
amount there ? ' ' With that we set a great fleet upon the sea 
ready to maintain and preserve the dignity of the United 
States in every sea, and protect every citizen, white or black, 
native or adopted, in any part of the globe.' And again the 
people will say, ' Well and good, we find no fault with that.' 



* CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 261 

" Now then, my friends, how shall this annual amount be 
raised ? 

"About $150,000,000 of this is raised from internal revenue, 
— taxes on tobacco, spirits, oleomargarine, opium, etc. ; articles 
either of luxury or whose consumption need not be encouraged. 
The balance, about $200,000,000, comes from what we call 
customs revenue, — that is, from duties levied on imports ; and 
there is where the two parties differ in a very important 
degree. They say, ' You must levy your impost duties in such 
a way that certain articles may take the whole or the large 
burden of the tax.' They say, ' Here is our list of articles upon 
which you shall impose what is called the tariff.' Then we, 
the Republican party, say, on the other hand, ' No, we do not 
agree with you upon your list of articles.' Remember, my 
friends, that all this time we agree upon one thing, that this 
amount of money must be raised, that it costs this amount ; 
and I have been able to find no case of extravagance in the 
administration of the Republican party which merits your con- 
demnation. Therefore we say, ' Now take our list of articles ; ' 
and our list of articles is different from theirs. What is 
theirs ? Such articles as tea, coffee, sugar, molasses, in fact 
everything in which labor does not enter as a factor of produc- 
tion. We say, ' Wait a moment. We know that that is an 
ancient system ; it has been tried in certain countries ; but 
cannot we do better than that ? ' So we put up our list and we 
say, 'Whatever we put on that list shall come under certain 
heads. First, that list shall contain articles of luxury which 
are not matters of necessity ; and, secondly, — and here is the 
great and important distinction, — it shall cover all articles 
into which the labor of the American working man and woman 
comes as a factor. There is a difference between the two 
parties. And observe that our friends on the other side do 
not propose to free you, my friends, from the burden of tax- 
ation. They tell you that they will when they come here 
before you on your platform, but as near as we can find out 
to-day, all the change they propose to make is to take the 
tariff off the list into which your labor enters and put it 
upon the list of articles into which your labor does not enter. 
And so the proposition would be to take from woollen goods. 



262 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENE ALGE. 

cotton goods and steel and machinery and products of iron, — 
to take the duty off those and put it back upon sugar, upon 
molasses, and upon articles of a kindred nature. When I talk 
on this matter of tariff, I sometimes leave out the word ' protec- 
tion,' and I will tell you why. I say it is a question of equal- 
izing taxation, of adjusting equal and just taxation, rather 
than a matter of protection. Let me illustrate what I mean, 
as I have had occasion to do previously, by a case of goods of 
some sort made here in Taunton and a case of goods over from 
Mullhouse or some European manufacturmg city or town. 
Observe, when this case of goods is put into the market, — the 
one into which your labor has entered, — it represents every 
dollar that employer and workingman and workingwoman has. 
It represents their capital, their profit, their wages. In that 
case of goods is their fortune, the happiness and prosperity of 
their families, of their wives and children. Out of that case of 
goods has come the money to build your cottages, to deposit in 
your savings-banks, to build your roads and bridges, to erect 
your libraries, your city halls, your hospitals, and everything 
that goes to make the civilization of the United States the 
highest and most advanced in the world. All that is repre- 
sented in your case of goods. Have not our people paid their 
just share of the expense of government in that case of 
goods ? Have not we all borne our fair and equal proportion ? 
Has not the workingman who has put his labor in paid some- 
thing to the carrying on of the great government, something to 
the support of the city of Taunton, of the county of Bristol, of 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as to the United 
States of America ? He has paid his full share. His wife has 
helped. His wife and children have helped in an indirect way, 
because they have been consumers and helpers in that way. 
So I say, my friends, your case of goods has done its full duty, 
its just and proper share. But here comes in the other case of 
goods from across the water somewhere. What has it paid ? 
Now, the question between the Democratic party and the 
Eepublican party is how much it ought to pay to earn its 
footing, to come into the market and compete with the prod- 
ucts of your labor. Why, it is not an unfair estimate to 
say that the value of that case of goods has contributed 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 263 

thirty, forty, and in some cases fifty per cent ad valorem 
of its value to the country here. It costs something to 
maintain this great market-house of the United States. It 
cost something to win it originally. It took labor, energy, 
treasure; it took blood; it took human life. It takes some- 
thing now to maintain and carry on that mighty market-house 
stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. All we say is that 
your labor, that your capital, that your interests and fortunes 
shall at least stand on an equal footing with that of the new- 
comer on this side. So we say, is there anything unreasonable 
in saying that before the case of goods shall come in, and, freed 
from the burdens which you have borne to maintain this market- 
house, paying the rent of the store, keeping it clean, protecting 
it from fire, protecting it from danger of every kind, and doing 
all that out of your own pockets and out of your own labor, 
— is it fair that this case of goods, coming in on the other side, 
should push out and out the domestic product made here in 
Taunton ? We say, equalize the taxation ; and so, before 
that product shall come in here it shall at least pay an equal 
amount with the case which has paid its way, and which has 
contributed to the support and comfort and success of the 
country. That is simply a question of equalization of taxes. 
I have not gone into the question of protection for protection's 
sake. It is not necessary to go into the fine distinction of 
the books about diversifying industries, about promoting labor. 
I put it to-night on the simple ground of justice and fair play 
to the workingmen and the workingwomen of the United 
States, and say there is nothing unfair in that view of the 
case. Consider, then, my friends, if this is anything more 
than the simplest justice dictates and requires. 

" My friends, it is always important, even after you have 
adjusted your revenue laws, — and those come under the sub- 
ject which I have mentioned as taxation, — that the great basis 
of value which we call money (currency) shall be safe, steady, 
as little changeable in value as possible. Money, the dollar 
that you put into your pockets after you have earned it, is the 
measure and the representative of your labor. It is, therefore, 
of the highest importance that that representative and symbol 
and actual embodiment of value shall be all it is represented 



264 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

to be, — that it shall be indeed 100 cents, and not 80 or 75 or 
70. That matter is of as much importance, I may say it 
is even of paramount importance to any other. If after you 
have done your work, if after you have put in your plant 
and run your business, you take something which is fleeting, 
changeable in value, you might just as well stop working 
one time as another. Therefore it is of the highest impor- 
tance that the money question shall be handled with judg- 
ment, with discretion, and, above all, with integrity, sterling 
as the gold itself. 

" Now, then, let me see about the aspect of things to-day. 
Money is important, not merely to the capitalist, it is more 
important to the workingman and the workingwoman. The 
capitalist can always protect himself in some way or other. It 
is the other people who are prevented from protecting them- 
selves against the incursions of false standards. So that I 
do not want you to think that this question of currency is one 
in which you are not deeply interested. Wliat, I say, then, is 
the aspect of this question of monetary value to-day ? It is 
not in a satisfactory condition ; and I want to ask my friends 
on the other side, and any of them may reply to it at their 
pleasure, whether in 1892 a Democratic majority was obtained 
in the Senate of the United States ? I understood, and very 
clearly understood, from the manifestations made to make it 
clear to me, that in 1892 our friends on the other side had 
made a clean sweep, and had obtained possession of the Execu- 
tive, of the House of Representatives, and of the Senate of the 
United States, so that those three branches of government were 
in their control and possession. If it is not true to-day, when 
did the change come ? I therefore say that if there is a Demo- 
cratic majority in the Senate of the United States to-day, they 
cannot, as my friend Thomas has said, escape the responsibility 
of the delay which is now injuring the financial confidence in 
this country. Why, if they have a Democratic majority, what 
prevents them from passing, by concurrent action, the bill to 
repeal the purchasing clauses of the Silver Act which has been 
passed by the House ? 

"Well, they tell us that their majority is too small, that 
they have no such rules as those which governed the House 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 265 

of Eepresentatives. Thus they pay a splendid tribute to the 
genius of Eeed, who made the rules for the House of Eep- 
resentatives, which were approved and indorsed by the mem- 
bers of that House, — rules which enabled him, with a 
majority, to carry out the legislation of the people at that 
time. So we say, if you have the majority, if you have the 
disposition to pass this bill, do not find fault because there 
is a garrulous senator talking against time here and there, but 
send out your Committee on Eules to bring in a rule fixing a 
given day, and that as early as possible, to pass the bill, and to 
bring all the confidence that can be brought by that measure. 
I say, if they fail to do that, they fail to execute the will of 
the people, and the failure is directly chargeable to them. Now, 
my friends, this is a matter of the weightiest importance. It 
is a matter which deserves the thought and care of every intel- 
ligent man ; it deserves the thought and care of every Senator 
of the United States. 

" And do you think there is the slightest question as to 
where the noble senators from Massachusetts would stand if 
any measure were brought forward to hasten the decision of 
this momentous issue ? Do you think there is any question 
where George Frisbie Hoar would stand if a rule were brought 
in to hasten the day of voting ujDon this question of repeal ? 
Do you think there is any question of where Henry Cabot 
Lodge would stand upon this matter? I say, then, as my 
friend has said, the Eepublican party stands ready, willing to 
support this policy at this time, eager to forget in their duty as 
patriots any duty that a partisan spirit might suggest, and to 
say to the President of the United States, ' We stand at your 
back whether you are a Democrat or not.' There they stand, 
as they stood in the Fifty-first and as they stood in the Fifty- 
second Congress, making no partisan appeals, making no effort 
at obstruction in any measure which concerned the welfare of 
the country. My friends, the position in this country has gone 
beyond the mere partisan narrow limits. 

" It has come to be a question, as I said, which comes home 
to every home in the land. It comes home to every man and 
woman in Taunton. It is the business of any party to assist 
in helping its own people in providing them with every advan- 



266 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

tage that legislation can give ; and legislation cannot do a great 
deal even at the most. But at the same time your interests, 
the interests of the laboring classes, lie at the foundation of all 
good o-overnment. It is not the success of this or that wealthy 
man that makes the greatness of a country : it is the success 
of the fifteen, of the twenty millions of the bone and sinew of 
the United States which makes the happiness and glory of the 
United States. And so we may say that this question of 
finance is of the utmost importance. The question of revenue 
policy is also of vast importance. Why, my friends, if by the 
imposition of a duty in the raising of necessary revenue you 
can do two good acts at once, is it not wise to do that ? 

" If you put a duty upon coffee or sugar, it benefits no living 
man in America ; but if you put a duty to raise the necessary 
revenue upon woollen goods, upon manufactured cotton goods, 
upon manufactures of iron and steel, then you not only lift the 
burden of taxation and make it easier, but you confer a boon 
upon the American laborer, upon the American workingman. 
This country, I may say, is peculiarly circumstanced in one 
respect. You have here the highest standard of living which 
can be found anywhere in the world That circumstance 
makes it important that every advantage which can be derived 
from a fair and equal system of taxation shall be given to this 
people and not to some other people. 

" The American workingman is a citizen charged with im- 
portant duties. He has more political obligations and more 
political power than any citizen or subject of any country in 
the world. He needs more to maintain that higher standard 
of living than any other person in any other country similarly 
placed. He is a governor ; he is a ruler. It is important for 
the safety, for the prosperity, of the country that he should be 
intelligent, and in order to be intelligent and prosperous he 
must be well fed and well clothed and w^ell sheltered. He 
needs certain things for his comfort which people in other 
places do not have and do not seem to demand. He must have 
his daily newspaper ; he must have leisure to attend political 
meetings, and I do not care of what party he may be ; he must 
have means to send his children to school ; he must have 
means to contribute to these expenses of government of which 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 267 

I have spoken. Aud therefore we say that these are excep- 
tional circumstances. And while it is true, as has been stated 
in the books, that it is always best to buy in the cheapest 
market and to sell in the dearest, the question comes to the 
thoughtful man, ' After all, wliich is the best ? Which is the 
cheapest and which is the dearest?' Under the system of 
Alexander Hamilton, under the system of Henry Clay, of 
Blaine, and McKinley, there has been an increase in manufac- 
turing products. 

" We are following the standard which will lead us to the 
very van in the manufacturing countries of the world ; we are 
making rapid progress in improvements ; we are getting to be 
more scientific, more successful, every day. We have this 
theory : It is not by beating down wages that you get the best 
results. That is a slight factor. And reductions of wages do 
not result always in the net reduction of expenses. The true 
policy which the Republican party believes in is, raise and im- 
prove the standard of your laborer, contribute all you can to 
make him healthy, strong, intelligent. Let him make his way 
with the best advantages you can give him, and our notion is 
that the skilled artisan of Taunton will, under that policy, 
turn out more products than the artisan of any other country 
in the world ; and if we can keep on with this policy we shall 
not have any question about opening up our ports to the pro- 
ducts of any country. 

" Now, my friends, it is of the utmost importance that this 
policy should be maintained. It has been the policy of the 
country for more than thirty years; it has been the policy 
recommended by wise and thoughtful statesmen. At least in 
1892 we had a year of prosperity. My friend on the other 
side has said that 1892 was not a prosperous year, that there 
was an outflow of gold, and that business was diminishing ; and 
yet in the statements of the Annual Statistics of Manufacturers 
of Massachusetts the record is entirely the reverse. 

"In the year 1892 the increase in the value of the product 
of the nine leading industries of Massachusetts was $33,180,865 
over the total value of the product of the preceding year. 

"The rate of gain ranged from 2.68 per cent on cotton goods 
to 10.94 per cent on leather. The average gain was 5.37 per 



268 FREDERIC THOMAS GREEN HALGE. 

cent, the largest in recent years, the ' normal ' rate of increase 
being 3 per cent. 

"In the 4,473 establishments considered in these nine in- 
dustries, there was an increase of 13,515 hands, or 4.53 per cent 
in one year. In January there were 303,910 persons employed. 
In the vacation season in August there were 309,308 em- 
ployed, and in October 317,007, which dropped to 313,606 in 
December." 

The return of the Governor-elect to his home in Lowell, at 
half-past twelve on the night of the election, was perhaps the 
most remarkable political event in the annals of the city. 

A vast crowd waited for him at the station ; it was a cheer- 
ful and happy assembly of excited men. The time was long 
before the train arrived. 

It was as noisy as the Fourth of July. There were Roman 
candles and rockets. The crowd sang " Marching through 
Georgia" and other popular airs. At last the train arrived, 
and the enthusiasm of the people vented itself in a royal wel- 
come. Sober citizens, heads of families, grandfathers as well 
as young men, carried away by the excitement of the moment, 
united in dragging the open barouche, in which sat the hero of 
the hour, to Huntington Hall, accompanied by the wildly cheer- 
ing crowd. Bursting open the doors, the throng flowed like a 
sea wave into the hall and up to the platform. It was one 
o'clock in the morning, and a strange, inspiring scene, when, 
mid the greatest enthusiasm. Mayor Pickman introduced the 
Governor-elect : — 

" Fellow-citizens, the race is ended ; the battle is won. 
Lowell has been loyal to her foremost son, and Frederic T. 
Greenhalge has been elected Governor of the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts. Party lines have been forgotten. There 
is but one name in Massachusetts, that of our honored states- 
man. Such a scene as this to-night is almost unprecedented 
in the history of Lowell. But you did not come here to listen 
to me, and I am proud, then, to introduce the next Governor 
of Massachusetts." 

After his introduction Greenhalge spoke as follows : — 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 269 

" My friends, it is not late Tuesday, because it is Wednesday 
already. I have only a single word to say. What can I say 
after such a demonstration as you have given me ? The last 
thing I said when I left the city this morning was, ' Give me 
the vote of Lowell, and I will sacrifice five thousand votes in 
other parts of the State.' I am told that I have the vote of 
my own people, and I have not sacrificed a single vote in the 
remainder of the State. 

"What does it mean if it does not mean good to every 
mother's son of you ? — for I see there are no daughters here. 
I am not here as a partisan, in spite of what many of the news- 
papers have said. I have never meant to be a narrow partisan. 
I have tried to be a friend to every man that needed friendship. 
I have not been an illiberal man. I have tried to crush out 
party animosities. I have tried to bring the different elements 
here mto one brotherhood. 

" Of course we differ. It would be a dull world if it were 
not so. I should hate to have to live with any one who always 
agreed with me. Even my beautiful wife and my son and 
daughter do not always think as I do. Still, we are one family. 
I want fair, broad, honorable treatment on all sides. In this 
campaign, terminated to-night, I have struck no blow below 
the belt. I want to stand by the men who work for their 
living, — not because I want their votes ; I never ask a man to 
vote for me. Give me an election that comes from the hearts 
of the people, and it is the grandest glory that comes to a man." 

At these last words cries of " Aye ! aye ! " were heard from 
all parts of the hall. 

The day after election Greenhalge said in an interview : — 

" I do not regard the result in any sense a personal triumph. 
While I may have had enthusiastic friends who had my per- 
sonal interest at heart, I still believe that these friends were 
actuated by motives of principle and a desire for the public 
welfare. 

" If they regarded me in any friendly way, it was chiefly be- 
cause they regarded me as an instrument calculated to perform 
the task which they desired, or which they intended. 

" As for an explanation of either the preliminary campaign 



270 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

or the election, I think the duty of explanation belongs to the 
other party. I do not want you to leave out the word 
' other.' 

" Some explanation seems to be due from some of the politi- 
cal prophets. We simply point to the campaign and to its 
results. It is not a time for any partisan jubilation ; it is a time 
for tlie serious consideration of the present condition of affairs 
and the remedies applicable thereto. 

"How much the voice of Massachusetts, and the voice of 
other States speaking in the same tones, will aid against the 
bigots of theory, is the question to be solved. 

" For my part, I shall endeavor that the voice of Massachu- 
setts shall have its full and salutary effect upon the national 
council. I feel the utmost kindness toward the Democratic 
candidate for governor, on account of the fair and rational 
method in which he discussed party issues, which was in de- 
lightful contrast with the discouraging exhibitions made by 
partisan politicians and partisan newspapers on the Democratic 
side. 

" It is desirable to raise the standard of party journalism to a 
point at least of respectability. 

" I deprecate any demonstration of partisan exultation in the 
presence of the grave crisis in the affairs of the country." 

Greenhalge had now reached the summit of his career. He 
was elected Governor of Massachusetts, the grand old Common- 
wealth, whose chief magistrates have always been men of dis- 
tinction and character, — whose great traditions he reverenced, 
whose citizens he regarded as the most intelligent in the world ; 
he, who was only an adopted son of Massachusetts, had been 
held worthy of the highest office in the gift of her people. 
His heart was full of gratitude, and with the deepest feeling 
he looked forward to the honors and responsibilities of his high 
position. His whole being afterwards became absorbed in its 
duties. He gave himself without reserve to his great task. 
Conscience prescribed his course, and he never swerved from 
the appointed path. 

I will here again avail myself of the opportunity Judge 
Lawton has afforded me of illustratins Governor Greenhalge's 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 271 

character and aims by the just and discriminating words of one 
who knew him intimately and well. He writes of him as 
follows, referring at first to the period of his defeat in re-election 
to Congress : — 

" He returned to the practice of the law with a sharpened 
appetite. He had not lost his interest in the great popular 
contests over public policies. He was willing, even eager, to 
lead in those contests. He wanted to be a ' free lance for a 
while,' he said. He did not ' wish to be voted for any more.' 
He loved the public platform, and by no means intended to 
abandon it. Hereafter the law was to be his vocation, and 
everything else subordinate to that. 

" His plan was not that of the people of Massachusetts. The 
party to which he belonged, in the person of its candidate for 
governor, had been three times in succession defeated in the 
same State which had before been its stronghold. The last 
defeat of this kind had been in the presidential year of 1892. 
This frightened the leaders of the party in the Commonwealth. 
After much discussion the conclusion was reached that the 
very best must be nominated, or another defeat would follow. 
It was plain that many Eepublicans did not think that the 
tariff was involved in State elections. There was no State issue 
upon which the political parties were fairly divided. The 
personality of the candidate had come to count for more than 
ever. The youthful and talented Eussell, after a treble elec- 
tion to the chief magistracy, had created a personal party 
which seemed to dominate in Massachusetts. A candidate 
had been indicated to succeed him who, by his experience, 
his learning on all public questions, and by his forensic abili- 
ties, seemed hardly inferior as a getter of votes. There was 
no lack of substantial and sound men in the Commonwealth 
who might be chosen to oppose him. It was felt that some- 
thing more was needed. A man was wanted who was this, 
and besides should have that brilliancy of personality, that 
magnetic attractiveness, that should fairly overmatch and out- 
shine any favorite that could be pitched upon as a Democratic 
candidate. The selection of such a man was left to the rank 
and file of the Eepublican party. After a few weeks of sugges- 
tion and discussion, the response came from the people with 



272 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

no uncertain sound. Wherever he had appeared upon the 
platform Greenhalge had fixed the admiration and won the 
hearts of all who had heard him. Before the convention for 
nomination had assembled, the dispute as to his pre-eminence 
had practically ceased. He who alone seemed to be able to 
divide that convention, with grace and magnanimity advocated 
the nomination and the loyal, unanimous support of Green- 
halfre In the canvass that followed it soon became apparent 
that his election was sure. 

" He was three times elected governor by majorities which 
exceeded the hopes of his most ardent supporters. He per- 
formed all the duties of that office, not only with the grace 
which had been anticipated, but with a courage and wisdom 
that brought back the best days of the best governors of the 
old Commonwealth. There was no power behind the throne. 
There was only one governor while he occupied the chair. 
Honest and public-spirited men sometimes disagreed with 
him. Mere politicians and mere place-hunters seldom agreed 
with him. He considered well every responsibility placed upon 
him. He patiently and without prejudice heard both sides 
and all sides. When he reached what he believed to be the 
right conclusion, no friend, no man, no influence could swerve 
him from it. No son of Massachusetts, though born on her 
soil, ever reverenced more her great history and her great 
influence in America. Her democracy of two millions and a 
half of people was to him the advance guard of the civilization 
of the world. Every act, every utterance of Massachusetts, 
through its legislature or its governor, was sacred. He had 
been advised at his third nomination to conciliate a powerful 
faction in the convention which all his timid friends feared 
might defeat his re-election. An election had never been an 
important matter to him. It was no more so then than ever 
before. But the principle of opposition to him was of great 
importance. He did not hesitate to discuss that principle in 
his address of acceptance. To some it would have been a duty 
to truckle — to concede something. This he never did on an 
' essential.' He calmly reviewed what he had done and what 
he had said that had given offence ; he stated his own position 



CONGRESSIONAL CAREER. 273 

with patience, with toleration, and adhered to it with firmness. 
John A. Andrew was the * war governor ' of Massachusetts. No 
one will ever crowd him from the pedestal on which he stands. 
But Massachusetts was a unit behind him from the very begin- 
ning to the end of his great achievement. He led Massachu- 
setts to the field as really as if he commanded her soldiers in 
the fire of battle. Greenhalge came to the governorship of 
Massachusetts at a time when the wavering and fickle popular 
majority had demoralized even those who were at once good 
citizens and earnest partisans. They began to think that a 
party, to get into power and keep it, must deal timidly with 
questions that divide the people. Those who were politicians 
and nothing else thought the party's power and the candidate's 
popularity depended on the cunning evasion of all burning and 
disturbing questions. They thought it a candidate's duty to 
his party to conceal any opinion he might have which might 
appear unpopular. In the days of Andrew one great question 
swallowed all others, and the governor could afford to be inde- 
pendent and candid. But the politicians thought the times 
had changed. 

" Governor Greenhalge, however, seemed never to realize that 
his party was made of glass. Very early in his first term 
he developed a candor and an independence that some timid 
souls felt had destroyed every chance of his re-election. He 
was re-elected, however, and pursued the same course all 
through his second term, and to the amazement of many, he 
was triumphantly elected for the third term. Said one of his 
friends at that time, 'I have always said that the Governor 
was no pohtician. I have said it over and over again ; I 
thought it was true, but it is n't. There is only one politician 
in the whole world, and his name is — Greenhalge.' This was 
intended as a sort of a 'Scotty Briggs' tribute to the Gov- 
ernor. In the best sense it was a tribute to him. It was an 
unconscious tribute to the people of Massachusetts. It con- 
tained the lesson of lessons of Green halge's life and of his 
public service. As long as a democracy worth having shall 
stand, he is the best politician who deals with the people on 
the highest plane. The time had come when the Governor 

18 



274 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

of Massachusetts seemed to depend entirely for popular favor 
on his personal attractiveness and on the confidence of the 
people in his personal fitness. They found out that they had 
elected a man to be governor who, while he occupied the 
chair, would be governor alone, — in whose courage, justice, 
and wisdom they could confide ; and they kept on electing him 
until he died. 



CHAPTEK VIII. 

GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

The inauguration of Governor Greenhalge occurred January 4, 
at the State Capitol, in Boston, with the customary interesting 
ceremonies and that republican simplicity which is the honor- 
able characteristic of American institutions. Governor Green- 
halge succeeded the late Governor Eussell, who, like him, was 
re-elected three successive years to office, and who, like him, 
came nearer, perhaps, to the hearts of the people than almost 
any of their immediate predecessors. They differed widely in 
political beliefs ; but the power which they exercised over other 
minds had something in kind, and in their deaths they were to 
be, alas ! nearly united. The honorable ambitions of any man 
might well have been satisfied to have attained the position 
Greenhalge now occupied. The Eepublican party of Massa- 
chusetts had honored him with the highest office in their gift, 
and he began his first administration with the good wishes of 
even his political opponents. 

The inaugural address of a new governor is always looked 
forward to with interest by all parties, and is naturally a 
subject for criticism by those of opposite political beliefs. 
The speech of Governor Greenhalge was well received, and 
few of its suggestions called forth adverse remarks. It was 
an admirable state paper, and satisfied the people of the 
State that they had, as their chief magistrate, a man of prac- 
tical ability, and one well fitted to occupy so eminent a posi- 
tion. During his terms of office it was his fortunate destiny 
to continue to grow and develop in popularity and character, 
with ever-increasing appreciation and admiration by the peo- 
ple of the State, who came to know him well, and to give him 



276 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

full credit for the qualities he possessed. In his inaugural 
address Governor Greenhalge made some suggestions which 
were indorsed by Democrats and Eepublicans alike. He en- 
joined upon the Legislature the necessity of economy in view 
of the general condition of business. He spoke of the too 
common evil of stock watering, and advised that laws should 
be enacted to prevent it as much as possible. He commented 
favorably upon woman suffrage, and hoped to see a better 
understanding between employers and employees as a necessity 
of business life. A portion of his address touched on the 
following subjects, and I insert the passages in which he 
speaks of them : — 

EDUCATION. 

Public education is one of the primal factors in the devel- 
opment and advancement of the people. The education of all 
by all, for all, is the corner-stone of the Commonwealth. 
There is no room in this system of public education for nar- 
rowness, for intolerance, for prejudice. In its construction, the 
great object aimed at was to ascertain, not on how many points 
the people differed, but on how many points they agreed ; so 
that this common ground of agreement having been found, 
many diverse elements could be brought together, and thus the 
spirit of unity which should animate every citizen could be 
cultivated and developed. Upon this broad and enduring 
foundation the fabric of the Commonwealth is reared. Here, 
upon the ductile and plastic mind of childhood, are indelibly 
impressed the lessons of equal rights, equal duties, and equal 
opportunities before the law, and the great duty of patriotic 
devotion and service to the Commonwealth. Other institutions 
of learning may devote themselves each to its special object, 
but I firmly believe that the daily association of the diverse 
elements of the population in the period of youth, their daily 
common occupation in the same tasks and the same sports, 
bring together the children of the Commonwealth, and unify 
them as no other agency can do. 

In 1891 there were 657,137 foreign-born persons in Massa- 
chusetts ; and persons having one or both parents of foreign 
birth numbered 1,259,943. The total population of Massa- 
chusetts for the same year was 2,307,374. These figures are 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 277 

substantially the same uow, and bear substantially the same 
relative proportions as in the year 1891. The work of unifica- 
tion and assimilation has been for many years going on quietly, 
thoroughly, and successfully, and Massachusetts has not lost 
the high reputation for the personal character of her citizens 
which has so greatly distinguished her from the very beginning. 
This vast and wonderful work has been largely helped by the 
system of public education. It has been said that Waterloo 
was won on the playgrounds of Eton ; with equal truth it may 
be said that many a well-fought field from Baltimore to Appo- 
mattox was won on the playgrounds of the grammar-schools 
of Massachusetts, and the spirit of fraternity and patriotism 
cultivated in the studies and sports of boyhood blazed into 
clearer and warmer glow at the bloody angle of Gettysburg or 
before the defences of Port Hudson. 

I am aware that tliere are alleged to be defects in this sys- 
tem as regards both principle and method. Some of these 
defects I may be pardoned for mentioning, because Massachu- 
setts should have not only the best schools in the country, but 
the best in the world ; and every defect or alleged defect 
should be inquired into, and if discovered should be promptly 
corrected. Among other complamts, it is alleged that tliere is 
a lack of co-ordination between our common schools and the 
higher institutions of learning. It ought to be possible for the 
humblest child in l^.Tassachusetts, in any part of the State, to 
obtain in the public schools the preparatory instruction neces- 
sary for admission to the best university or college in the 
country. It is for you to determine whether and how the 
State shall assume the responsibility of providing or requiring 
equal facilities in elementary or secondary schools in all parts 
of the Commonwealth. Again, has sufficient provision been 
made for manual training throughout the Commonwealth ? I 
may say, further, that there is complaint in some quarters that 
there are not normal schools enough to furnish properly trained 
teachers, especially for giving instruction in the arts of manual 
training. Our public schools should, in principles, methods, 
teachers, and equipment, be brought to the highest possible 
standard of efficiency. 

There were 376,986 pupils in the public schools in 1891, 



278 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

when the latest enumeration now available was made. It is 
safe to say, with a reasonable degree of precision, that more 
than eighty-five per cent of the children of the Commonwealth 
of school age are to be found in these schools. 

TEMPEKANCE. 

The subject of temperance and the legislation designed to 
remove or to control the evils resulting from the manufacture 
and sale of intoxicating liquors have always and properly com- 
manded the earnest consideration of the people of Massachu- 
setts. Intemperance and the temptations which lead to it 
should be guarded against in every possible way. The cause 
of temperance can best be advanced by practical legislation, 
founded upon and supported by public opinion. Public 
opinion is not often created by law ; law is usually created by 
public opinion. 

I am aware that many objections are urged against the 
existing system of law relating to the manufacture and sale of 
intoxicating liquors. Undoubtedly, some of these objections 
are well founded. It is claimed that the limitation of the 
number of licenses in proportion to the population has worked 
injury rather than good to the body politic. 

I desire to point out, however, that much has been effected 
under the present system, faulty as it may be. During the 
year 1893 twelve cities and two hundred and sixty-two towns 
voted " no license." In view of these results, it would seem as 
if the friends of temperance might, with strong hopes and en- 
couraging prospects of success, direct their labors to the several 
communities of the State so as to develop and strengthen pub- 
lic opinion in the desired direction. 

The most momentous questions affecting public interests 
are subordinated to the inordinate and reckless desire to obtain 
licenses, and city and town affairs are thrown into confusion 
by the struggle between applicants. It is also urged that the 
work of distributing licenses would be much more honestly 
and judiciously performed by license boards appointed by the 
mayor and aldermen of cities, or by the judges of local courts. 
The farther removed the officials intrusted with the distribu- 
tion of licenses are from political, corrupt, or pernicious influ- 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 279 

ences of any sort, the better for the accomplishment of what 
must be at best a difficult and troublesome task. There is no 
influence which is so liable to disturb our moral and political 
welfare as that of the groggery and the saloon. 

Public sentiment is naturally opposed to the glaring moral 
evils which arise from the selfish and indiscriminate sale of 
liquor ; and political purity will be impossible so long as the 
influence of the sale and use of liquor plays so large a part in 
the discussion and solution of political questions. 

CORPORATIONS. 

I deem it important that suitable legislation be enacted to 
prevent the watering of the stock of quasi-public corporations, 
either through the instrumentality of construction companies 
or otherwise, and also to prevent the issue of bonds as a bonus 
to parties who subscribe for stock ; to confine the expenditures 
of these corporations as strictly as possible to the purposes for 
which they are organized, and to insure honesty in dealing, 
both with the stockholders and with the public. And, further, 
all contracts for the lease, sale, or purchase of railroads or street 
railways should be subject to the approval of the Eailroad 
Commissioners. 

There seems to be no good reason why all quasi-public 
corporations should not come under a similar rule. 

The evils attending the inflation of securities of corpora- 
tions which receive from the public great privileges not granted, 
private corporations, are so prejudicial to the welfare of the 
people that judicious measures for the prevention of such infla- 
tion are imperatively demanded. 

FAST DAY. 

I heartily concur in the recommendation made by my im- 
mediate predecessor for the abolition of Fast Day, and as a 
substitute therefor the observance by solemn and patriotic 
ceremonies of the 19th of April. It is vain to attempt to 
maintain a custom which has become "more honored in the 
breach than in the observance." 

If the public opinion which has hitherto sustained it has 
ceased to exist, the outward observance of such a day becomes 



280 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

a mere ceremony, which does not stimulate the reverence or 
devotion of the people. 

The substitution for Fast Day of the 19th of April may 
well commend itself not only to the patriotic but to the re- 
ligious sentiment of the people. The earliest memories of 
this historic day are forever associated with the maintenance 
of religious and civil liberty, represented by all that is sacred 
and valuable in the life and institutions of the Massachusetts 
of 1775. The day derives additional sanctity and significance 
as commemorating the patriotic spirit and devotion of 1861. 
Keligion and patriotism may, therefore, unite in consecrating 
this day to the great memories of 1775 and 1861 by appro- 
priate observances, which will exalt the devotion and stimulate 
the patriotism of every good citizen of the Commonwealth. 

SUFFRAGE. 

The expediency and justice of extending to women the 
right of municipal suffrage has been brought to the attention of 
previous legislatures. The tendency of modern thought and 
modern civilization points strongly in the direction of this 
extension. 

The services of women in various public departments are 
now acknowledged to be of the greatest benefit and efficiency. 
Upon school-boards and in the administration of our public 
charities there can be no doubt that a higher development and 
a rapid advance in methods of management and treatment 
have been accomplished ; and, furthermore, the participation 
of woman in the sterner business of life in almost every line of 
occupation and work has been constantly increasing. Her per- 
formance of labors which tradition and convention have assigned 
to men would seem to indicate her capacity for sharing in the 
most important business of the individual and of the com- 
munity, namely, the conduct of public affairs ; and also to 
demonstrate the benefits derivable from such participation, 
and might seem to justify the further step of granting to her 
the right of municipal suffrage. 

I, therefore, commend this subject to your most serious 
consideration. 



VOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 281 



PERORATION. 

Gentlemen, among the commonwealths of the earth we 
believe that Massachusetts is facile -prince^ps. What was 
said of the masterpiece of Grecian architecture two thousand 
years ago may well be applied to Massachusetts now. To her 
belongs " the grandeur of antiquity and the grace of novelty." 
Her achievements in science, literature, and art, her intellec- 
tual development and the grace and completeness of her cul- 
ture, have made her the Attica of the New World. In schools, 
in courts of law, in works of charity, in factories and in work- 
shops, in peace and in war, on land and on sea, her energy, 
example, and leadershij) have been everywhere felt and every- 
where respected. 

Almost three centuries of marvellous vicissitudes have 
robed her in the purple of heroic achievement and heroic en- 
durance, and her brow is radiant with the newest thought of 
humanity. No accumulation of wealth could compensate for 
the loss of individual or national character. But Massachusetts 
has attained extraordinary material gains without losing the 
nobility and simplicity wliich marked the character of her early 
inhabitants. As I have before suggested, the unification of the 
diverse elements of her population has been proceeding with 
a wonderful rapidity and completeness. The oneness of the 
spirit of her people will manifest itself in the faith, energy, 
and courage with which she will meet and OTrmount every 
obstacle in her pathway to peace, prosperity, and glory. 

Upon one thing we must insist. The people of the newer 
Massachusetts must be taught to revere and emulate the people 
of the elder Massachusetts in their fidelity to the principles of 
constitutional liberty, in their public spirit, and fervid devotion 
to the common weal. In this way only can you be assured of 
the efficacy of the prayer, ^icut patribiis sit Beus nolis. 

At a banquet of the Grand Army of the Eepublic in Music 
Hall, February 8, the new Governor was a guest. His speech 
on this occasion was one of those patriotic addresses which he 
loved, perhaps, best to deliver, and which were always elo- 
quent and earnest: — 



282 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENEALGE. 

" I rejoice that I am permitted to be with you for even a few 
brief moments. There is inspiration, there is patriotic fervor, 
in standing before a gathering of thousands of men like you. 
I like to hear the hoarse call of the bos'n, though I do not 
quite understand it. I like to hear the old songs that the 
veterans sing to remind them of the beautiful and graceful 
moments snatched from the severe toil of war and of battle, 
of prison and, as it were, of suffering. I see before me the 
army and the navy of the good old Commonwealth, — 'The 
Army and Navy forever ! Three cheers for the Eed, White, and 
Blue.' I am glad to meet these distinguished strangers. I like 
to sit next to this gallant veteran. Walker, of Indiana, — the 
State of that other gallant veteran and soldier (we leave all 
politics out to-day), — that other gallant soldier Benjamin 
Harrison. It is not without a feeling of local pride that I see 
Department Commander Hall sit where he does, — an old 
Lowell boy, who is just as old as they ever get to be. Do you 
think it gives me pain to see Jack Adams sit where he does 
in the highest office of the order ? It is another wreath in 
the crown : some of us want to wear crowns, — the crowns of 
colonels, if nothing else. 

" I rejoice to be with you, the most magnificent organization 
the world ever knew, in war and in peace. The world never 
knew before of an army of a million of men, who at the tap of 
the drum at Appomattox blended so quickly and easily into 
the ranks of the people, and with not one sign of disorder or 
lack of peace and harmony, became adherents of law, of peace, 
and of harmony. When we read in history of the returning 
veterans of yore, we read of times of lawlessness of every sort ; 
but this army of citizen-soldiers of the United States became 
in a moment, as by magic, citizens again, — just as when the 
call came in '61 the citizen sprang from the farm, from the 
factory, and from the office to defend the life of the nation. 
So when the war was over, the flag of the country again float- 
ing over the whole land with not a star or stripe erased, then 
they said the work is done, we are again citizens of Massachu- 
setts. It is not often, my friends, that such an event has been 
seen in the history of the world. I say that it has never been 
paralleled; and if, my friends, there should come trouble, or 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 283 

the appearance of trouble, from without or within, I know that 
the Grand Army of the Eepublic, to the last survivor, while 
there was a single bugle to blow, would be arrayed on the side 
of law and order, on the side of the Commonwealth of Massa- 
chusetts, of the United States. 

" Why, then, should not the Commonwealth bring her warmest 
tribute of gratitude and respect to men like these ? It was in 
her hours of discouragement, it was in the hours of dismay 
throughout all loyal America, that the messages of good cheer 
came from your rifles, from your muskets and cannon ; it was 
the sound of your measured tread that brought to Massachu- 
setts and to the whole country courage and good cheer and 
good tidings." 

In less than two months after his inauguration the course 
of events brought to Governor Greenhalge an opportunity of 
distinguishing himself and gaining the confidence of the people 
of the Commonwealth, the like of which is not often given to 
the Governors of our quiet States. It is needless to say now 
that he availed himself of it with energy and determination. 
He proved himself to be emphatically the man for the hour, 
and from that moment he possessed the real confidence of the 
people. He showed that he possessed the qualities which they 
most admire, — resolution and readiness in an emergency, and 
the command of men. The people of the State were suffering 
at the time from the prevailing business depression; a large 
number of men were out of employment, and the consequent 
poverty pressed hard upon them. Things were not at so ex- 
treme a pass in Massachusetts as elsewhere in the country, but 
they were bad enough. It was the day of Coxey's army, when 
the singular scene was witnessed of great bodies of men, dis- 
contented and out of work, marching from remote parts of the 
country to the Capitol at Washington, their ranks continually 
reinforced from the cities and towns on their way, — a motley 
and incongruous crowd, carrying banners inscribed with social- 
istic mottoes. A similar spirit was roused in all parts of the 
nation, and the strange pilgrimage was imitated in various 
States. Hard trials were indeed upon the people, and the 
socialist leaders with their doctrines found an opportunity of 



284 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

which they greedily availed themselves. Discontent and 
poverty are the only levers by which these agitators can move 
the people. In Massachusetts the accents and doctrines of 
socialism sounded strange, and failed to influence many ; yet 
there were a number of men who held such ideas, and more 
who, for mere excitement, were ready to follow them on any wild 
errand. The leaders of these malcontents in Boston were Mor- 
rison I. Swift and Herbert N. Casson, both young men. Headed 
by them, the first mass-meeting of the unemployed was held on 
the Common January 31. Mayor Matthews and the Eelief Com- 
mittee were denounced, and resolutions were adopted. The fol- 
lowing is an account of the memorable meeting which took place 
subsequently on the Common on Tuesday, February 20 : — 

About the middle of February Governor Greenhalge received 
a note from Morrison I. Swift, intimating that the unemployed 
of the city would like to call upon his Excellency and receive 
from him advice and assistance. The Governor consented to 
receive the unemployed, and the time appointed was February 
20, at half-past two o'clock. 

On that day, long before the appointed hour, a crowd to the 
number of over one thousand or more gathered on the Common. 
A motley crowd it was. The clothes, countenances, and lan- 
guage of the majority proclaimed their recent arrival in this 
country. After listening to addresses from Swift, Casson, 
and other Socialist- Anarchists, as they styled themselves, they 
proceeded to the State House, where Swift and Casson were 
made delegates to wait upon the Governor with a petition. 

Governor Greenhalge received them courteously and read 
carefully their petition, which was as follows : — 

To the Governor of Massachusetts : 

We have decided to confer with you in a body, because we 
are anxious to hear from your own lips what effort you will 
put forth in our behalf. In periods of special emergency 
strong men in office have grappled with trying problems in a 
great manner, and have conferred lasting services by their dis- 
cernment and vigor. The present is such an opportunity for 
you. Will you earn the approbation of your fellow-citizens 
by putting the deeply significant nature of this crisis of work- 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 285 

ingmen's want before them, so far as you can, to cope with it 
earnestly and in no slighting or temporary spirit ? 

We give you with this a transcript of our petition to the 
Legislature, the articles of which we would have you support 
with your influence. The plan of State farms and factories is, 
we believe, the most direct, efficient, and enduring way to 
deal with the problem now. 

The proposition for the establishment of a permanent com- 
mission on the unemployed is one that we would particularly 
urge upon your attention for the following reasons : — 

1st. It is held by the intelligent members of the working- 
class, who should and do know most about the question, that 
the unemployed are no new phenomenon, but that each year 
many industrious persons are obliged to suffer deprivation 
through enforced idleness. If this is so, temporary relief 
would be ineffectual. 

2d. The number of unemployed is always growing, because 
machines are discharging many annually who thereafter find 
no continuous work. 

3rd. It is further believed, with the sanction of present 
experience, that through this disruption of industry there 
will be an unprecedented number out of employment for a 
long time. 

4th. Want of preparation for the emergency, want of knowl- 
edge how to face it, the absence of all scientific means for 
ascertaining correctly and quickly the number of unemployed 
and their condition, have had for results feeble and restricted 
relief efforts, bold denials of facts by those who wished to 
shirk responsibility, and at length the almost complete 
indifference, exhaustion, and paralysis of public endeavor to 
provide for the unemployed toward the end of the winter, when 
the distress has reached its highest. 

Considering these facts, we believe that a commission on the 
unemployed is indispensable. 

Adopted by the unemployed on Boston Common, Feb. 20, 1894. 

When he had finished his perusal of the document, the Gov- 
ernor said to Swift : " You would scarcely expect a reply off- 
hand to your propositions, would you ? " 



286 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" Well, " replied Swift, " we have made a strong point on 
State farms and factories. You might do something on those 
things now. " 

" You must remember, " said the Governor, " that State farms 
cannot be lightly disposed of. " 

Swift. We have made certain propositions. Something 
must be done. The case is urgent ; we cannot go on starving. 

Gov. Geeenhalge. Of course you yourself are one of the 
unemployed ? The necessity of which you speak is yours ? 

Swift. Oh, yes. 

Gov. Greenhalge. Now you say that we must formulate 
plans for you, — that we must do something. Why should that 
labor devolve on us ; or why should not those affected, those 
deepest interested in the solution of the problem, do the work ? 
These general demands for help are insufficient. These people 
who are in distress ought to know what they desire. 

Swift. They want work, — you will have to do something ; 
they will no longer be put off with words. If there is a de- 
sire to do this, we want to know it, so we may know how to go 
ahead. 

The Governor replied simply by defining what a State is 
and what it means. He explained how the majority of the 
people by thrift or inheritance are able to subsist without 
complaint ; that there are others who want work, — know how 
to get it, and do not on the least pretence cry out to the State. 
" Now you propose," he said, " that that large majority bear 
your burden. Do you think they are bound to give to the 
unemployed work or public employment if the work is not 
necessary or beneficial to the community ? " 

Swift unhesitatingly replied in the affirmative. 

" We have come, " said Casson, " for assistance to the place 
where laws are made. " 

" You have come, " quickly replied the Governor, " to the 
Executive, who is as much a servant as any. I simply suggest 
to you, " he continued, " the difficulties that are in my way. 
Were I a despot, I might remedy the situation at once. But I 
am not. This matter is rather one for the Legislature to deal 
with. I readily admit the gravity of the situation ; it de- 
mands the earnest thought and sympathy of every intelligent 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 287 

citizen. I want to do everything that can be done under the 
Constitution, careful not to transgress the rules and regulations 
of our government. " 

Swift replied loudly, " Change them ! " 

Casson. There is an intensifying force that may turn out 
destructive to the State. We feel that something might 
happen. While we are sitting on the safety-valve, the Huns 
and Goths may break forth and — 

Gov. Greenhalge. There are no Huns and Goths out there 
in the multitude, are there ? 

Casson. There is the making of Huns and Goths in them. 

" Let me tell you, " replied the Governor, with determination, 
looking Swift in the face, " the covert threat never appeals to 
me. " With a few words more the interview ended. The dele- 
gates returned to their followers ; while the Governor, having 
willingly consented to address the crowd, who were waiting in 
front of the State House, passed down through Doric Hall, and, 
alone, went out to meet the excited crowd. He delivered his 
speech from the steps of the Capitol. 

" I do not know how many there are of you, " he said, " but 
I presume that every man here to-day is a loyal citizen of 
Masssachusetts. Is that so or not? [The crowd applauded 
faintly. ] Now you have presented to me a memorial contain- 
ing some important propositions and questions. I shall treat 
that memorial with consideration and respect. You are also to 
present a memorial of similar character to the Legislature of 
the Commonwealth, and I think that, knowing that body, 
I can assure you that it will receive respectful and careful 
consideration. 

" My friends, you ask, as I understand it, for employment. 
Consider, first, what the function and powers of the Governor 
are. Consider, again, what the functions and powers of the 
Legislature are. This is a government of laws and not of 
men. The Governor has not despotic power, he is bound by 
the Constitution and the laws; and so is the Legislature; and 
these laws and that Constitution have been framed by the 
people for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. If there is 
anything wrong about either, it is the fault of the people of 
Massachusetts. 



288 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" Now, my friends, you say you want public works to be 
started, and you want the State to furnish you with employ- 
ment. Let me suggest some of the difficulties which stand in 
the way. What is the State ? The State is the tax-payer, the 
working men and women of Massachusetts. No public work 
can be undertaken in this Commonwealth unless, first, it is 
necessary ; second, unless it is beneficial ; third, unless there 
is enough money in the treasury to pay for it. " 

Here were sounds of dissent in the crowd, feeble shouts of 
disapproval being heard. 

" Is not that reasonable and sensible ? " continued the 
Governor. 

Shouts of " Yes " and " No " arose, — the latter predominating. 

" Consider the limitations of our position. In the history 
of Massachusetts her laws have been treated with full respect. 
No official of this Commonwealth can be intimidated. We 
want to treat our brothers and sisters in a true, fraternal spirit. 
Everything that can properly be done under the Constitution 
and laws, either by public or private means, to relieve distress 
should be done. If industry can legitimately be started, my 
best endeavors shall be given to that end. " 

While the Governor was speaking, he was joined by 
Adjutant-General Dalton and Mr. Thomas ; and when he had 
finished, they returned together to the State House. Morrison 
Swift was raised to the shoulders of one of his followers, and 
from that position shouted out his orders to the crowd, telling 
them that all were to enter the State House, where a petition 
would be presented to the Legislature. 

The crowd thereupon thronging into Doric Hall, Swift 
mounted to the balcony over the entrance to the Adjutant- 
General's office, from which position he could speak to the 
crowd below. He advised them all to go up into the corridors 
surrounding the hall of the House. " We are going, " he said, 
" to present our petition to the House ; and if the suggestions 
contained in the Governor's speech are not carried out, we '11 
clean out every man in the Legislature ! We will clean 
out the State House if we don't get what we want." This 
incendiary utterance stirred the blood of every man (who was 
not one of Swift's followers) that heard it. Mr. Thomas, the 



_ 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 289 

Governor's private secretary, who stood near Swift, hastened 
to the Executive Chamber, where the Governor was pacing 
back and forth alone. " They are threatening to clear out the 
State House, Governor," he said. Governor Greenhalge, 
without a word, stepped into the corridor, and, going directly 
to Swift, said very quietly, but with great determination: 
" You promised me that if I would receive you and address 
the gathering outside, you would use your influence to pre- 
serve the peace. Did you just now state that you would clean 
out the State House ? " 

Swift cowered. " I did, " he answered ; then half muttered, 
" But I stated that we would do it with the ballot. " 

This statement was entirely false. 

" You wish to make that qualification ? " asked the Governor. 

"Yes," replied Swift. 

" Very well, " said the Governor, " I accept your explanation ; 
but remember that all the civil and military forces of the State 
will be used, if necessary, to preserve the good order of the 
Commonwealth, and you, sir, will be held personally account- 
able for any incendiary act that may occur. " 

The Governor then returned to the Executive Chamber; 
while Swift, slipping out of sight, mingled with the crowd 
which, on the arrival of the police, soon melted away, down 
the broad steps, out into Beacon Street, gradually making its 
way back to the Common, where they were again harangued by 
Swift and others. A few days later Swift, through Mr. Eufus 
Wade, Chief of Police, asked if he, with his followers, would 
be allowed to come to the State House. To which the Gov- 
ernor replied that he would see Swift himself upon the matter. 
Mr. Swift accordingly came himself, with the request that 
he and his followers be allowed to march to and enter the State 
House in a body. 

This permission the Governor refused to grant, saying that 
the unemployed could send a delegation like any other organi- 
zation or organized body. 

To Swift's inquiry if they would be permitted to have their 
gatherings on the Common, the Governor replied he had no 
control over that ; personally, he had no objection to addresses 
on the Common provided they were not inflammatory or bel- 

19 



290 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

ligerent. He then explained to Swift the steps that had been 
taken in behalf of the unemployed, adding that if the people 
of the Commonwealth were satisfied the intentions of the move- 
ment were peaceful, matters would be facilitated and harmo- 
nized, otherwise not much progress would be made. 

Swift thanked the Governor for his candid statements, and 
asserted that he desired and intended to keep within the law. 

So ended the most dramatic episode of Greenhalge's political 
career, and one of the most exciting in the annals of the State 
since the war. Throughout the State the majesty of Massa- 
chusetts and of the law was thought to have been insulted, and 
a feeling of indignation was everywhere expressed. Massa- 
chusetts, proud of her traditions of order and of her fair fame, 
felt the insolence of these men deeply, and stood behind her 
Governor with immense enthusiasm. The Press echoed the 
sentiments of the people unanimously and gave voice to their 
feelings. Praise of the Governor's action was heard every- 
where. His actions, his bearing, his words, on this exciting 
occasion commended themselves to all, and rose to the height 
of the event which called them forth. 

They were right and noble ; and how characteristic they were, 
rightly understood, of the man himself ! What a sharp thrust 
was that when the Governor, replying to Swift, who had 
spoken of the want and poverty of his followers, asked him 
abruptly, " The condition of which you speak is yours ? " How 
sarcastic it was ! He evidently was extremely doubtful about 
the sufferings of Swift. Such gentry often make considerable 
profit out of the suffering people, drawing frequently a salary 
for their disinterested services. How indignant too was his 
utterance later to the same Swift, after his incendiary speech 
to the mob in the State House rotunda ! All who knew Green- 
halge well knew him to be capable of anger at every form of 
insolence. The Governor's words and action were overwhelm- 
ing to the cowardly leader, who seemed little to expect that 
he would be taken to task so vigorously for his bravado and 
effrontery. The insolence of Swift on this occasion was in- 
deed beyond endurance. His threat to clean out the State 
House was enough to call down on him even more than the 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 291 

sharp words and reproof of Governor Greenhalge ; it was full 
of unbounded arrogance, as was Casson's reference to the 
Huns and Goths. How cringing also was Swift's palliating 
effort to. make his meaning out quite different from what it ob- 
viously was ! " By the ballot, " — did he have this excuse ready 
from the beginning, to evade the anger his expression roused 
in the minds of the Governor and of the people ? Such double 
meanings suit with double dealings. The speech of the Gov- 
ernor to the crowd on the Common was just and reasonable. 
He hardly at the time realized the nature of the assemblage ; 
it was not such as he had been accustomed to address. The 
men who formed it were not of the type of Americans who 
uphold the policies of the Eepublican party and frequent its 
political meetings. It merited the term of rabble, and con- 
sisted of men of no political party. They were incapable 
of appreciating the Governor's speech. Patriotism and respect 
for the law were not terms that appealed to them. It is no 
wonder that they greeted his speech with faint applause or 
hisses. 

It should have appealed to them with all the force of the 
Governor's meaning. It was not likely to occur to them that 
many of their claims were absurd, that the Governor had not 
the power to relieve their distress. Swift was, so to speak, an 
educated man ; he had studied in Germany, — a quite distinc- 
tive fact ; he was inoculated with German socialism. He had 
also studied in an American college, — a fact not so distinctive ; 
socialistic tendencies are not developed, happily, in American 
universities. Of small interest now are Swift and Casson, 
and their beliefs and actions ; they have passed into the limbo 
of forgotten things, or have left only the memory of their 
insolence and cringing in the face of the Governor's rebuke. 
Swift was well aware of his insolence at the time probably, 
— perhaps he hoped to escape its inevitable results, — but he 
found that the Governor of the State of Massachusetts was 
master of the situation. It was well it proved to be so. 

Much as the American people admire eloquence and the gifts 
and graces of political life, they, like all people, respect more 
the display of firmness and resolution by their leaders and 
rulers ; and from this time they never doubted the possession 



292 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

of these qualities by the man who held the position of their 
Chief Magistrate. 

The evening of the riot Governor Greenhalge spoke at the 
annual dinner of the Underwriters' Association. All were 
eager to hear what he would say concerning the event which 
engrossed the thoughts of all ; what he did say called forth the 
greatest applause. He was strongly moved, and spoke with 
suppressed feeling. The experiences of the day had tried him 
severely, — alas ! there was something prophetic in what he 
said referring to the risks to which his life was exposed. The 
danger to which he referred was not the risk to be most feared, 
however; that was concealed in the darkness of the future 
and of fate. His speech was as follows : — 

" I think I need all your good wishes in the present exigency, 
I doubt whether any life-insurance company at this day would 
consider me an ordinary risk. [Laughter and cries, ' Try it ! '] 
That is the most encouraging answer that I have received. I 
am very glad to receive assurances from societies, organizations, 
which really mean business, carried on with an equal step, 
according to the life and the vicissitudes of life to which man 
is subject. 

" Do you know, Mr. President, that your line of business runs 
closer to the career of mankind than any other which can be 
suggested ? A man may insure a building, he may take his 
chances upon a speculation. You and your companies take 
your chances on your speculations upon human life, and that 
brings about the grandest inquiry and investigation that can 
be instituted by men. You say you are willing to take the 
chances on my life. It depends, after all, upon the scientific 
information and calculation of your actuary ; it depends upon 
long study and calculation, and the result of experience. 
Anybody can calculate the chances of the life of a building. 
Has it anything of the delicate vicissitudes of a human being ? 
I think not. You tell me you have been carrying on this 
business successfully. I think the proof of that statement is 
in the presence of these gentlemen here to-night. There 
appears to be at least no question about their success in busi- 
ness. They have done their work ; they have made their com- 
putations nicely, accurately, and exactly. 



GdVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 293 

" Yet, my friends, the finest point that occurs to me is that 
point of the president's remarks which referred to the part 
taken by Massachusetts in the work of life insurance, — first of 
all States to bring this whole subject into order, into beauty, 
into symmetry and law. Is not Massachusetts always the 
first of all States to bring everything into order and law and 
symmetry and beauty ? 

" I come from strange and disorderly scenes, I stand here to 
ask the support of the men of orderly mind in Massachusetts. 

" Massachusetts means business, not merely in life insurance ; 
and I hope it means business in that line so far as I am con- 
cerned. It means equal rights and equal opportunity, the 
best advantages for any child of man that lives ; and it makes 
my blood boil when I find men complaining that Massachu- 
setts and her laws are unjust, unfriendly, and unequal. I say 
it is for conservative institutions like yours to say how much 
it costs to insure the lives of your citizens; and that is the 
whole business of commonwealths when we trace their action 
to the last analysis. I want, and so do you, to give equal 
rights, equal opportunity, fair play, and justice to every citi- 
zen, to every inhabitant of Massachusetts; and when I see 
disorderly people crowding through the streets, I say, Is not 
this a question which Massachusetts must answer? 

" Yes, she has answered every question of that sort in times 
gone by, and she will always answer those questions and be 
true to her ideas, her principles of equal right and liberty and 
justice. 

" Therefore, Mr. President and gentlemen, I say that we have 
no reason for discouragement. We simply want the loyal men 
of Massachusetts, the business men, the men who insure 
lives and property, to stand by the Commonwealth of Massa- 
chusetts, and we shall pass through all these dangers as the 
sunbeam passes through the mist. 

" I respect the man on the right [referring to Major Merrill] 
because he has been in the right. What we want in your 
insurance companies, or in any insurance company that does 
business within the limits of the Commonwealth, is honesty, 
faith, solidity. Although this man [referring to Major Mer- 
rill] made his war against a company in which I myself held 



294 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENE ALGE. 

a policy, what could I say ? We want men of a calibre infre- 
quent in these days, who will stand up against all corrupt 
influences or mean advantages of any sort. 

" I am delighted, my friends, to be here for one brief moment. 
You may notice that I am not entirely devoid of appearances 
of fatigue. I admit that for once in my life I do feel inclined 
to sleep; yet whenever the exigencies of the Commonwealth 
call upon me, I think as long as there is any life left in 
me, I shall ask for insurance at your hands, and shall en- 
deavor to be true to every interest of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts. " 

The Governor, true to his word, a few days after the riot, 
sent to the Legislature the following message : — 

Gentlemen, — I beg to transmit herewith a petition pre- 
sented to me on the 20th inst. , and I suggest that it be con- 
sidered by you in connection with a memorial of a similar 
tenor which I am informed was presented to you on the same 
day. While many of the propositions contained in the com- 
munications transmitted may appear to be beyond the scope of 
your powers under existing laws, yet the Commonwealth never 
turns a deaf ear to the just complaint or claim of any of her 
citizens ; and, moreover, an inquiry into the conditions and 
circumstances therein set forth may be productive of great 
benefit in serving to make clear such conditions and circum- 
stances, as well as the duties and powers, under the law of 
State, city, and town, and, further, to stimulate private effort 
and private benevolence to suggest or furnish a remedy for the 
difficulties confronting our community. With this purpose in 
view, I transmit to you the accompanying petition. 
Very respectfully, 

Feederic T. Greenhalge. 

A petition similar to that given to the Governor had already 
been presented to the Legislature on the day of the riot by 
Representative Mellen, of Worcester, who disclaimed any 
sympathy with disorderly proceeding of any kind in relation 
to the labor movement or to the present petition. These 
petitions resulted in the appointment of a commission by the 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 295 

Governor to consider the present condition of distress and the 
means that might be taken to relieve it. 

This practically ended the movement begun with such 
scenes of disorder on the 20th of February. The business 
of the country was doomed to suffer from depression for further 
years of trial ; but the idle and discontented classes ceased to 
proclaim their distress by the means taken during this year or 
violent proceedings of any kind. They seemed to give up 
their idea of forcing tlie State to take measures for their 
relief, and to await with more patience a revival in general 
business conditions. 

Governor Greenhalge, soon after his election, determined to 
call a conference of the Governors of the New England States, 
to consider the business situation of the country. The party 
leaders, however, were averse to the idea, and the Governor 
finally relinquished it. Dec. 1, 1893, the " Boston Journal " 
made the following announcement of his intentions : — 

" Governor Greenhalge has decided that as soon as possible 
after the assembling of the Fifty -third Congress, he will call 
together a Conference of the Eepublican Governors of New 
England, including Governor Cleaves of Maine, Governor 
Fuller of Vermont, Governor Smith of New Hampshire, Gov- 
ernor Brown of Rhode Island, and himself, to consider the 
present condition of the country, and determine what steps, if 
any, should be taken to conserve and advance the interests of 
the New England States. 

" The conference originated with Governor Greenhalge, and 
is in keeping with the statements he made during the cam- 
paign, — that he would do all in his power to protect the 
business interests of the people. " 

The Governor explains his intention in an article in the 
" North American Review, " which will be found in the Ap- 
pendix at the close of this book. 

The recommendation contained in Governor Greenhalge 's 
first inaugural to abolish Fast Day and to make the nineteenth 
day of April a public holiday was carried into effect by the 
Legislature, and the first public celebration at Concord of Pa- 
triots' Day, as it was called by Governor Greenhalge, occurred 



296 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

the nineteenth day of April in that year, 1894 The name of 
Patriots' Day was merely suggested by Governor Greenhalge 
as good and satisfactory, and was welcomed in many editorials 
as being an admirable idea. Governor Greenhalge delivered 
an oration in Concord at the celebration. Like all his 
patriotic speeches, it was a stirring address. 

The Governor had previously issued the following procla- 
mation : — 

"By an act of the Legislature duly approved, the 19th of 
April has been made a legal holiday. 

" This is a day rich with historical and significant events 
which are precious in the eyes of patriots. It may well be 
called Patriots' Day. On this day, in 1775, at Lexington and 
Concord, was begun the great war of the Revolution ; on this 
day, in 1783, just eight years afterwards, the cessation of war 
and the triumph of independence were formally proclaimed; 
and on this day, in 1861, the first blood was shed in the war 
for the Union. 

" Thus the day is grand with the memories of the mighty 
struggles which in one instance brought liberty and in the 
other union to the country. It is fitting, therefore, that the 
day should be celebrated as the anniversary of the birth of 
liberty and union. Let this day be dedicated to solemn, reli- 
gious, and patriotic services, which may adequately express 
our deep sense of the trials and tribulations of the patriots of 
the earlier and of the latter days, and also especially our 
gratitude to Almighty God, who crowned the heroic struggles 
of the founders and preservers of our country with victory and 
peace. " 

The following is the address of the Governor in Concord at 
the first celebration of Patriots' Day : — 

" Me, Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, — I bring to you 
the message of Lexington, full not only of fervor, but of frater- 
nal love, of deepest sympathy. If there is one beautiful fea- 
ture of this consecrated day, it is the exalted and magnanimous 
spirit of your reverend fellow-townsman, who belongs not only 
to Concord but to the State and to the country. It is in this 
spirit of fraternal love that true patriotism expresses itself in 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 297 

the noblest and highest way. What does it matter who has 
the honor and who does the work so long as it belongs to the 
nation, and has resulted in the benefaction of the whole civil- 
ized world ? These sentiments will grow stronger, and warm 
and exalt the hearts of our children. I count it a privilege 
to be here to-day, and to hear the grand address just delivered. 
It is instructing and elevating to listen to this grand scholar. 
These exercises have an elevating and ennobling effect. 

" What is it that gives this event its importance, its signifi- 
cance, its grandeur ? An event is not so much that which 
has happened as something that causes something else to 
happen. The crucifixion darkened the face of heaven, but its 
results have illumined all mankind. The battle at the old 
North Bridge had little military significance, but it resulted 
in the foundation of this great republic. We come here as we 
may trace the windings of a noble river, from a mountain rill 
to a mighty stream, which bears upon its bosom the navies of 
the world. Here we find the beginnings of constitutional 
liberty. 

" It is unnecessary to go over again the details of this story, 
— you know it by heart, the world knows it by heart. When 
that shot was fired, the standard of royalty went down forever 
upon this continent, and the first true republic of this earth 
arose before the astonished eyes of men. The consequences of 
that little skirmish were greater than those of the skirmish on 
Chalgrove Field, where John Hampden poured out his life. 
The memories of April 19 are greater than those of any other 
date on the calendar. They are not limited to any one war or 
any one year. They tell of liberty in 75 and union in '61. 
Boston, Worcester, and Lowell alike step in and claim their 
share in Patriots' Day. 

" I would not limit it by calling it Massachusetts Day, be- 
cause it is not limited to Massachusetts, but will be taken up 
by every State and Territory in the Union. 

" It would be difficult to find any place in the world carry- 
ing a greater significance to men than ancient Concord. Here 
Liberty and Literature walked hand in hand. Law and Order 
dwell here. Poesy has put her finest wreath in the crown of 
patriotism in the hymn you have just sung. If the silent and 



298 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

inflexible figure of the Minute Man must always appear to 
stand guard at one end of the old North Bridge, surely the 
great spirit of Emerson stands sentinel at the other. 

" Think of the line which may be drawn from the lantern 
tower of the old North Church to the old North Bridge ! You 
can imagine a triumphant arch of freedom through which 
every bondman oppressed may pass to find liberty. What 
kind of a fabric has been reared by the people whose sires laid 
down their lives at Concord ? What is this republic ? Is it 
only a prison, imperfect, defective, out of repair ? Is it a fact 
that the children of men do not find protection within it, that 
it is not a true home? The test of a good government is 
whether wrongs can be righted and improvements made. Does 
any one declare that the fabric of this republic does not fulfil 
that test ? Tell me if any law is unjust and unequal, if there 
is any wrong to be redressed and improvement to be made, any 
flaw in the Constitution to be remedied. An examination of 
the history of the Constitution and statutes will show that 
from the beginning equality, justice, and liberty — the three 
inseparable qualities — have been written in every law and in 
every line of the Constitution. 

"The uprising in 1775 was no wild rebellion, no lawless 
proceeding. It was well ordered by keen, law-abiding free- 
men. When, therefore, men not in sympathy with our insti- 
tutions come demanding some violent and radical change, we 
must remember what the men of Concord were and what they 
represented. 

" What is the duty of patriotism to-day ? It is not, thank 
Heaven, to march with gun and sword. It is to defend the 
spirit of the law and the Constitution, to keep sacred the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts in all its parts, in all its relations. 
You may not hear again the wild gallop of Paul Eevere, but 
Wisdom hangs out her lantern from every church, every col- 
lege, every school, and Conscience, like Paul Pievere, drives on 
and on, through the night and through the day, to summon 
every sleeping force that patriotism can command against the 
midnight march of corrupt influences, against the attacks of 
disloyal traitors against the institutions and the Constitution 
which we love. 



-GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 299 

" This day was consecrated one hundred and nineteen years 
ago by the blood of those who sleep here. I am glad that 
industrial success has left Concord in her idylKc condition. 
It seems providential. Let Concord and Lexington be regarded 
as the Campo Santo of constitutional liberty to which the 
world may turn for instruction and inspiration. 

" My friends, in behalf of the Commonwealth, I hail this 
day. I bid you Godspeed, and wish you many anniversaries, 
and I hope that every son and daughter will remain true to 
the principles for which their forefathers died." 

One pleasant event of the Governor's first year of adminis- 
tration was a reception given by him to the working-people of 
Lowell. " I have been given so many banquets and recep- 
tions, " he said, " I should like to give one myself to my own 
townspeople. " The reception was given under the auspices of 
the People's Club, of which the Governor was president, and 
took place May 28. Mrs. Greenhalge, with members of the 
Staff, assisted the Governor in receiving his guests, of whom 
there were over two thousand men, women, and children ; and 
for each one the Governor had a pleasant word. 

Nothing in Governor Greenhalge 's years of service as Chief 
Magistrate of the State brought him more praise and encourage- 
ment than the vetoes that he sent to the Legislature. They 
stamped him as a truly fearless and independent statesman. 
The people recognized that fact at once and upheld him in 
his action. Considered as the moves of a politician, some of 
them assuredly would not have been called clever in the inner 
circles of Tammany Hall. They were adverse to some of the 
strongest supports of the politician, — to some of those large 
corporate interests and aggregations of capital which some- 
times supply the sinews of war to carry on the contests of 
political wire-pullers, and the power of which is often felt 
in the politics of the country. It requires unusual courage, 
an independence of character rare in any party, to stand fear- 
less in opposition to such powerful adversaries. 

Such moral courage as the Governor displayed in some of his 
vetoes is admired by the people, and they stood behind him 
with their support. They gave him their confidence ; were it 



300 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

not so, tlie punishment feared by the politician might have 
overtaken him. The powers behind the throne, the strength 
of moneyed interests, and the prejudices of party might have 
brought disaster upon him politically. 

But it was not so. His actions turned out to be good polit- 
ical moves, though they were the result of the unselfish deter- 
minations of a disinterested statesman. The good sense of 
the people can be trusted and calculated on in all political 
combinations. The mere wire-puller may not esteem it a 
factor of much account, but it is apt to make itself evi- 
dent to his ultimate consciousness and the confusion of his 
ideas. 

The vetoes of Governor Greenhalge form the keynote of his 
administration. They display his character before the people. 
He was that rara avis, — a perfectly fearless and honest poli- 
tician. He never sought to advance his own selfish interests ; 
he never feared to injure his political chances. His course 
was straight onward ; he had a political conscience, and he 
listened to its voice. 

After his veto of the Bell Telephone Bill many of his friends 
said, " I knew that the Governor would veto the bill. " In this 
case the unexpected did not happen. His friends knew before- 
hand how he would decide ; yet it required unusual courage. 
The Bell Telephone Company is a powerful corporation, and 
the Legislature was strongly in favor of the bill. The veto of 
the Veterans' Preference Bill, which he sent to the Legislature 
in his second year, was another strong proof of his truly inde- 
pendent character. The soldier vote is an important factor in 
the political party he represented ; his action might have of- 
fended a large section of that party. There were, however, many 
veterans of the war who thought as he did, and he received 
a great number of letters from patriotic old soldiers, in which 
the writers expressed their satisfaction at his course, and their 
esteem for him and the motives that influenced him. No 
man in the country had a higher admiration than he for the 
veterans of the most patriotic war in history. Many of the 
veterans knew this, and most of them, I believe, admired him 
for his independence. These two vetoes were the most impor- 
tant of those which he sent to the Legislature, and he gained 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 301 

in popularity by them. The vetoes were convincing in them- 
selves, — admirably composed, thoughtful, and logical. His 
reasons are fully set forth, and the defects of the bill plainly 
discovered. 

On the 23d of April the Governor sent in his first veto. 
The bill provides that " Trout artificially reared in i)i"ivate 
ponds and streams in this Commonwealth may be used for food 
during February and March under such restrictions as the Com- 
missioners on Inland Fisheries and Game may prescribe, except 
in the counties of Hampden, Hampshire, and Berkshire. " 
The veto was as follows : — 

To the Honorable Senate a7id House of Representatives : 

I return herewith without my approval Senate Bill No. 66, 
entitled " An Act to permit, during February and March, the 
sale for food of trout artificially reared in the Commonwealth, " 
assigning for such action the following reasons : 

1st. The words in the Act " artificially reared " are not pre- 
cise and definite, and are liable to various interpretations ; 
meaning, on the one hand, trout reared in hatcheries of elab- 
orate construction, and, on the other hand, trout reared in a 
greater or less degree on food artificially supplied in ponds and 
streams, or in enclosures of rude construction. 

2d. The difficulty of readily distinguishing artificially 
reared trout from wild trout must make the administration 
of the proposed law practically ineffective. 

3d. The opening of the closed season in the manner pro- 
posed, even with restrictions prescribed by the Commissioners, 
would in effect tend to bring in all kinds of trout, wild or arti- 
ficially reared, and to annul or impair the policy of preserving 
and protecting fish and game which has become the established 
policy of the Commonwealth. 

4th. The discrimination in regard to the counties of Berk- 
shire, Hampden, and Hampshire does not appear to be based 
on constitutional principles or on good and sufficient grounds. 

The veto of the Trout Bill was followed. May 14, by 
the following veto of a bill removing restrictions on shad 
fishing : — 



302 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives : 

I return without approval Senate Bill No. 73, entitled " An 
Act to remove the restrictions upon shad and alewife fishing 
in the Merrimac Eiver, " for the following reasons : — 

The removal of the restrictions as contemplated by this bill 
must tend to undermine the whole body of the law now in 
force in this Commonwealth looking to the preservation and 
protection of fish and game, and is likely to work injury which 
it would be difficult and perhaps impossible to remedy, Fur- 
thermore, the policy now established in the Commonwealth 
relative to the fisheries on the Merrimac Eiver is interwoven 
in a measure with the policy of our sister State, New Hamp- 
shire, and of the New England States ; and a change of legis- 
lation such as is contemplated by this bill should not be 
made if it tend to impair the mutual understanding hitherto 
existing. 

Both of these vetoes were sustained by the Legislature. 

On May 31 the Governor sent to the Legislature a message 
vetoing a bill relating to the sealing and attestation of deeds, 
giving as his objection to the bill, that " portions of it are, 
if not harmless in their provisions, unnecessary, in declaring 
a deed not under the seal of a corporation, but under the seal 
of one or more other parties, to be in etl'ect the deed of such 
corporation. It aims to provide for the case of a corporation 
which has adopted no particular form of seal ; but if a corpo- 
ration affixes a seal to a bond or deed, that seal becomes the seal 
of the corporation, and the present law would appear to be 
sufficient. The transfer of real property should be governed 
by clear, simple, and well-defined rules, — a requisite which 
the proposed Act, in my judgment, fails in several respects 
to meet. " 

This veto also was sustained by the Legislature. Of this 
veto the " Boston Herald " said : " Governor Greenhalge's latest 
veto is a merited rebuke to the legislators for the loose and 
ambiguous manner in which bills are drawn up and incor- 
porated into our statute books. This bill appears to be a mass 
of ambiguities and contradictions, and the Governor does not 
hesitate to say so. The form and phraseology of our public 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 303 

statutes need more careful attention, and this veto ought to 
furnish the necessary inspiration to this end. " 

Upon tlie 26th of June the Governor sent to the clerk of the 
House ^ — the Legislature not being in session that day — a veto 
of the American Bell Telephone bill. This bill authorized 
the company to increase its capital stock in the manner pro- 
vided by law at such times and in such amount as it might 
from time to time determine, provided that the whole amount 
of the capital stock should not exceed fifty million dollars. 

To the Honorable Senate and House of Hej^resentatives : 

I return House Bill No. 620, entitled " An Act to author- 
ize the American Bell Telephone Company to increase its 
capital stock, " without approval, for the following reasons : — 

While there may be no objection to any reasonable increase 
in the capital stock of the American Bell Telephone Company, 
it is material and important to inquire why, and under what 
terms and conditions, such increase as is now asked for should 
be allowed. 

The general principle governing such cases is as follows : No 
increase of capital stock should be granted to any corporation, 
whether public, quasi-public, or private, unless good reason is 
shown for such increase, and unless the public interests are 
secured by suitable and ample guaranties. 

The general policy of the Commonwealth is to impose 
proper and salutary restrictions upon any increase of capital 
stock in quasi-public corporations, guarding against stock- 
watering and against any measures tending to the public 
detriment. The proposed Act provides that the American Bell 
Telephone Company may increase its capital stock in manner 
provided by law. 

The company was incorporated by the Statutes of 1880, 
Chapter 117, and by that Act was made subject to the provi- 
sions of Cliapter 224 of the Acts of 1870; by Statutes of 1889, 
Chapter 385, it was authorized to increase its capital stock 
(which, by the original chapter, was limited to $10,000,000) 
up to $20,000,000, the increase to be made " in the manner 
provided by law." The Statutes of 1870, Chapter 224, by 
which the charter of the Telephone Company was expressed 



304 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

to be governed, were incorporated into the Public Statutes in 
Chapter 106. The material section of Chapter 206 is Section 
37, which provides substantially that when any corporation, 
subject to this chapter, increases its capital stock, each stock- 
holder may take his proportion of new shares by paying there- 
for the par value. 

Unless, therefore, other legislation has provided differently, 
the bill for the present increase authorizes the corporation to 
issue its new stock to its present shareholders. 

The Legislature has, however, enacted a law this year 
(Statute 1894, Chapter 472) providing that corporations named 
therein can only issue their new stock upon payment by the 
shareholders at the market value of the shares at the time of 
the increase, to be determined by the State Board under whose 
jurisdiction the several corporations enumerated are, includ- 
ing the following : " A corporation established for and engaged 
in the business of transmitting intelligence by electricity. " Is 
the American Bell Telephone Company such a corporation ? 

The charter of the company (Statutes of 1880, Chapter 117, 
Section 1) incorporated it for the purpose of " using, and licen- 
sing others to use, electric speaking telephones and other 
apparatus and appliances pertaining to the transmission of 
intelligence by electricity ; and for that purpose constructing 
and maintaining public and private lines. " 

The American Bell Telephone Company, therefore, is a cor- 
poration " established for " the business of transmitting intelli- 
gence by electricity. 

I understand, however, that it is claimed that it is not 
engaged in that business for the reason that it only manufac- 
tures telephone apparatus to be sold or loaned to other com- 
panies ; and it is quite possible that it may claim, as indeed 
I am informed that it is liable to claim, as not being engaged 
in the transmission of intelligence by electricity, that it is 
not within the provision of the Statute of 1894, Chapter 
472. 

It is an ambiguity which might easily be remedied by a 
proper section. As the legislation now stands, apparently it 
may increase its capital stock under the provision of the pro- 
posed bill by issuing its shares to its subscribers upon the 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 305 

ground that it is not now engaged in the business of trans- 
mitting intelligence, etc., and, having obtained its increase, 
proceed to engage in the business. 

Unless I am mistaken, the law is drawn with this very 
possibility in view. 

Nor does it appear that this large amount of increased 
capital is at present needed ; but a more important question 
arises : Is this a quasi-public corporation ? 

Legally and potentially it is. Its charter, as I have before 
stated, gives the company the right of using and licensing 
others to use electric speaking telephones and other apparatus 
and appliances pertaining to the transmission of intelligence 
by electricity, and for that purpose in constructing and main- 
taining public and private lines. The company has, therefore, 
the legal power to maintain and operate telephone lines ; and 
this mere fact that its business is done with the public in a 
less open and direct manner than by other companies ought 
not to exempt it from the ordinary and regular legal restric- 
tion and safeguards established by the present policy of the 
Commonwealth. 

In the Legislature the motion to pass the bill over his veto 
was rejected by a vote of 49 yeas to 115 nays. 

Eequested about this time, by a Boston journal, to write 
for publication a letter giving his idea as to what an ideal 
vacation should be. Governor Greenhalge sent the following 
brief exposition of his views. The letter was published with 
others on the same subject written by various distinguished 
men. 

" My ideal vacation is to be free from office-seekers, in a 
place where I am not obliged to give opinions on matters which 
are not before me, or to consider speculative ideas ; an oppor- 
tunity to take rational physical exercise, and to pursue the 
study of literature, political justice, and poetry, in the society 
of family and friends. 

" I care nothing about hunting, fishing, or sports. These may 
be means to an end ; but it must always be remembered that 
life is too short to indulge in sporting fads. 

" A true rest is not idleness, but the opportunity to reflect, 

20 



306 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

and to pursue the studies that a man loved in his youth, and 
still loves to follow when he can. 

" A mere stopping of mental work is stagnation, and helps 
neither mind nor body ; neither can a man, nor ought he, to 
get out of touch with the work of the world. " 

One of the last Acts of the Legislature of 1894 was the pas- 
sage of the Rapid Transit Bill, — or Meigs Bill, as it was 
commonly called, — a bill to incorporate the Boston Elevated 
Eailway Company. This bill was strongly opposed in the 
House, but was finally sent to the Senate, where the opposition 
was continued with the understood assistance of the Governor, 
who allowed it to be known that without material changes 
and the insertion of the referendum clause the bill would not 
receive his signature. With many of the objectionable fea- 
tures changed, with the referendum included, and by the aid of 
the Subway Bill attachment, the bill passed the Senate, and on 
the 3d of July received the Governor's signature. 

August 16 Governor Greenhalge delivered a lecture at the 
Old South Meeting House, Boston, the subject of which was 
John Winthrop, Governor of Massachusetts. The following 
report of the lecture is fragmentary, and inadequately repre- 
sents his literary style : — 

"My Feiends, Ladies axd Gentlemen, — I approach the 
subject assigned to me with a good deal of diffidence and 
reverence. I wish that more ample histories or biographies 
had given an adequate conception of the remarkable man 
whose life and character I am to briefly sketch and comment 
upon. 

" I know of no more dramatic period in English or American 
history than the time of John Winthrop. And yet I think, 
after the scholarly efforts of Fiske, of Robert C. Winthrop, the 
illustrious descendant of an illustrious ancestry, after the very 
striking and dramatic work of Mr. Twichell, we still must 
admit, as I think they themselves would admit, that this great 
period of history has not been treated, either in biography or 
in history or romance or dramatic art, as the mighty lives of 
its partakers truly deserve. 

" I remember one impressive story written, I think, by a 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 307 

descendant of the Connecticut branch of Winthrop, — that won- 
derful novel, ' Edwin Brotliertoft,' by Theodore Winthrop, — one 
of the best historical stories, by the way, I remember to have 
read, and I commend it to the attention of these students and 
searchers after historical knowledge, with its gay and striking 
portraiture of Major Andrd, of Howe and Clinton, and many of 
the leaders in the time of the Eevolution. 

" We all remember the striking and gloomy stories of Haw- 
thorne, in which some of the early Governors appear. Yet the 
great, splendid, stern, strong, and merciful man whom we are 
to speak about briefly to-day, I find almost unsung though 
never to be forgotten. And therefore it is with a good deal 
of hesitation, a good deal of trepidation, that I approach a 
topic so momentous and with which this awakening spirit of 
love for true historical proportions will find an adequate and 
proportionate grandeur in the history of the world. 

" In the annals of the English-speaking people everywhere, 
and also in the evolution of civil liberty among all nations, 
the year 1629 was a memorable and significant period. For 
many years a struggle between king and people, parliament 
and prerogative, had been going on in England. This struggle 
was imbittered and inflamed by the deeper antagonisms 
developing between the Church and the increasing body of 
independent and advanced thinkers, between ecclesiastical 
arrogance and Puritan dissent. The Puritan exodus had 
already in 1620 been heralded and foreshadowed by the 
daring band of godly pioneers who had reared the standard 
of the Lord and of liberty at Plymouth. 

" And several other brave little garrisons of advanced religious 
and political thought were ' holding the fort ' at various points in 
New England. In March of this eventful year, 1629, two great 
events occurred. Parliament was angrily dissolved by Charles I., 
and at the same time was signed a great charter which held the 
destiny of Massachusetts and the principles of civil liberty. 
And it came into the hand of John Winthrop, which never 
relinquished it. So that, as the fated house of Stuart hurried 
to its doom, as monarchical principles tottered to their fall, as 
the cloud of smoke of civil war settled down on the old 
country, a band of intelligent men, with full sense of respon- 



308 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENE ALGE. 

sibility and glowing with solemn and lofty purposes, crossed 
the sea, and with the inspiration of their efforts a new Eng- 
land, brighter and fairer than the old, arose in the Atlantic 
main to cheer the sons of freedom all over the world. 

" Let us look at the dominant figure, standing stately, grave, 
and gracious, in the portals of New England, — John Win- 
throp. He was a remarkable man, specially equipped for a 
remarkable work. He was a Puritan such as Macaulay loved 
to paint, and a Puritan in action upon a field as great as that 
on which Cromwell spent his 'dearest action' — for Win- 
throp, too, 'had a kingdom for a stage, princes to act, and 
monarchs to behold the swelling scene,' — but the kingdom 
was a commonwealth, the princes were the captains of free- 
dom, and the monarchs who beheld the scene were freemen 
everywhere. 

"Winthrop's life and career were not entirely marked by 
felicity and success. He had many trials. He was a ' man of 
sorrows and acquainted with grief.' Sickness, death of wife, 
children, and friends, poverty in advancing age, all these he 
had to bear. He had sharp conflicts with Deputy-Governor 
Dudley, he differed frequently from Endicott, he had a con- 
troversy with Governor Bradford of Plymouth, he was pestered 
and annoyed by Bellingham, he was impeached by Peter 
Hobart of Hingham, he was opposed by Governor Vane and 
a majority of the Church in the Antinomian dissension, and 
several times he was superseded by men of mediocre ability 
for no reasons whatever except such as mediocre men always 
assign on such occasions to justify their own preferment. 
But his infinite, almost divine, patience supported him under 
all these trials. The great charter was safe, the Common- 
wealth was safe, the supreme law — namely, the safety of the 
state — had not been violated, and therefore all was well. 
He was the guardian, defender, and preserver of the Charter. 
He guarded, defended, and preserved it against all enemies, 
against assailants from within and from without, against 
Koger Williams, against Charles, and against Cromwell. The 
events of Governor Winthrop's life were some of them extraor- 
dinary. He was born in 1588, — a period marked by trouble 
and change, — the execution of Mary Stuart had just occurred, 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 309 

the invincible Armada of Spain was about to sail. Winthrop 
entered college before he was fourteen ; he was married very 
early, at the age of seventeen years three months four days, — 
and this is one of the early marriages which turned out well. 
His eldest son was John Winthrop, Jr., the future Governor of 
Connecticut, — a man whose career illuminated the history of 
that noble Commonwealth with living light, just as Winthrop's 
own career illuminated the history of Massachusetts. He had 
many noble children besides. Winthrop, the father, was Lord 
of the Manor of Groton in the county of Suffolk ; he became 
a lawyer, and had an excellent practice ; he was the friend of 
Hampden, Cromwell, Sir John Eliot, and all the great freemen 
of that age which saw the monarchy of England become the 
Commonwealth of England. 

" Winthrop was a model in all the domestic relations, as 
husband, father, neighbor, and friend. At the age of forty-one 
years he was made Governor of the Company of Massachusetts 
Bay, at a General Court held in London, Oct. 20, 1629, 
superseding Endicott at Salem upon his arrival after a voyage 
of eighty-four days. Endicott himself had just superseded 
Eoger Conant. Winthrop's life in the New World exhibits 
the growth and establishment of a great State. 

" As has been said, Winthrop's journal is one of the most 
remarkable compositions ever written or read, because it tells 
the real history of New England, just as Bradford's record 
gives the history of the earliest colony of Massachusetts. But 
Winthrop, with all his greatness, with all his success (and 
after all his trials and struggles, he was undoubtedly a man 
whom the world would crown with the laurels of success), was 
as human a man as ever stood upon the shores of Massachu- 
setts. His journal, his letters, his every utterance, show how 
true and tender, how careful of everybody's feelings, he always 
was, and yet he accomplished the miglitiest results of any one 
man in his day and generation, and perhaps through a long 
period. I say he was a very human man, a man whom you 
could know and sit down with and talk to, and in finding out 
the hidden springs of his action you could always find the 
principle of benevolence, of truth, of justice, the love of Chris- 
tianity, and the fear of the Almighty. From birth and sta- 



310 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

tion and training, he was naturally and inevitably inclined 
to aristocracy ; yet liberal, just, and full of humility, and al- 
ways ready to acknowledge his transgressions, — to himself, 
to the people, to his Maker. Beneath his placid, cold, and 
dignified exterior, his wonderful journal and his letters tell 
us what warm passions burned, what strange emotions dis- 
turbed. Full of tact and courteous consideration, he never 
trimmed or compromised where principle was concerned. He 
was eager to be forgiven, often when there was nothing to 
forgive. He was more eager to forgive often when he might 
well have condemned. In fact, he was charged by his stern 
associates with a crime, — the crime of leniency. Notably in 
the case of Roger Williams he was guilty, and practically 
confessed his crime; but he did not amend his conduct in 
this respect, and died with this sin of mercy and tenderness 
upon his soul, — his greatest, if not his only, sin in public 
office. He was conscious of his own faults, sometimes mor- 
bidly so; and his journal is full of consideration for sins of 
which there was no external evidence made known either to 
private or to public judgment. In fact, the Governor was the 
Governor's severest critic. And the stern Pilgrims of Plymouth 
and of Massachusetts Bay loved him ; and when reverses came 
upon him, for he was not exempt from adversities, Endicott 
protested his regard for Winthrop with symptoms of deep emo- 
tion. The towns, the Church, forced money upon him, and 
even wild Tom Morton — the Wildrake of New England his- 
tory, — who calls him 'King' Winthrop at one time and com- 
plains that when he, Morton, wanted to speak in his own 
defence, interrupting Winthrop, there was a deep roar of ' Hear 
the Governor, hear the Governor!' — can find as the harshest 
thing he can say of him only the name of ' Joshua TemperwelL' 
He was as stout a soldier of the Cross as ever buckled on ar- 
mor, yet he was pre-eminently a peacemaker. Upon the tomb 
of his ancestors, in the Old World, are inscribed (now faintly 
seen) the words ' Beati pacificati," — a new force and light from 
Winthrop's life has brought out that half-effaced inscription. 
With those stern, strong, resolute Puritans, he knew when to 
recede and when to insist, when to be gentle and when to be 
inflexible ; he was a practical, reasonable man, with the light 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 311 

of genius and the light of Christianity to guide and support 
him. 

" He found in his old age that he had been stripped of most 
of his property, and about the same time a claim was made 
from the Deputies that he should present a strict account to 
the Colony, or to the magistrates, of his expenditures and receipts. 
There is something pathetic in his dignified statement that, so 
far from having made anything out of them, he had expended 
twelve hundred pounds from his own estate for public purposes 
which he had never asked to have repaid. 

" And so these critical people discovered the kind of man he 
was, and when misfortune and sickness came upon him they 
hastened to make such amends as they could. Endicott sent 
messages of singular tenderness for that inflexible and icy 
nature. 

"There was a great contest going on in this evolution of 
civil and constitutional liberty ; and it is true that Wiuthrop 
sided, as I say, naturally and inevitably, with the magistracy, — 
with the constituted authorities, because they had been put in 
power by the people and by the voice of the people, and for 
a certain term, at least, they were almost as absolute as any 
emperor or king, — and this position of his had awakened a good 
deal of ire among these stern and independent souls who had 
never brooked the king, or a leader, or anybody who was better 
than themselves. In fact, they illustrated their idea very fully 
with philosophical statements, which were sometimes paradoxi- 
cal, — like one of the sons of Hibernia, who said that one man was 
as good as another and a good deal better too ; and they fully 
believed that this principle meant that each man had a full and 
equal right, and that when any question came between him and 
any constituted authority, he was as likely to be right as any 
authority. And so when this question came between the magis- 
tracy and what we may call the commonalty, they tried John 
Winthrop, and impeached him on the question of the appoint- 
ment of the captain of a train-band in Hingham ; and I think 
the Governor speaks of Hingham as the ' mutinous Hingham,' 
though they have long since got rid of any such title as that. 

" After the inquisition was over, and Winthrop, who not as 
Governor but as Deputy had until then stood within the bar, 



312 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

the greatest among the assembly, yet giving the court its full 
right and power and authority, claiming nothing for himself by 
\irtue of the previous office which he had held, — was acquit- 
ted and had resumed his seat upon the bench, the court being 
about to rise, he desired leave for a little speech. That ' little 
speech ' is a lesson in constitutional history and in constitu- 
tional government, — it should be in all the reading-books. 
And then may I say that the Governor was a good deal more 
than a statue. 

"He wrote the finest love letters that I have read in the 
English language. He had the grace of Sidney, with less of 
his stiffness and clumsiness. He wrote in terms full of poetic 
fire, full of eloquence, and every sentence marked by scholarly 
diction. He writes from the vessel, as he was waiting for 
favorable winds to cross an unknown sea, this farewell letter 
to his wife, Margaret, — 

" ' And now, my sweet soul, I must once again take my last 
farewell of thee in Old England. It goeth very near to my 
heart to leave thee ; but I know to whom I have committed 
thee, even to Him, who loves thee much better than any hus- 
band can ; who hath taken account of the hairs of thy head, 
and puts all thy tears in his bottle ; who can, and (if it be for 
his glory) will, bring us together again with peace and comfort. 
Oh, how it refresheth my heart to think, that I shall yet again 
see thy sweet face in the land of the living ! — that lovely coun- 
tenance that I have so much delighted in, and beheld with so 
great content ! I have hitherto been so taken up with busi- 
ness, as I could seldom look back to my former happiness ; but 
now when I shall be at some leisure, I shall not avoid the 
remembrance of thee, nor the grief for thy absence. Thou hast 
thy share with me, but I hope the course we have agreed upon 
will be some ease to us both. Mondays and Fridays, at five of 
the clock at night, we shall meet in spirit till we meet in per- 
son. Yet if all these hopes should fail, blessed be our God, 
that we are assured we shall meet one day, if not as husband 
and wife, yet in a better condition. Let that stay and comfort 
thine heart. Neither can the sea drown thy husband, nor ene- 
mies destroy, nor any adversity deprive thee of thy husband 
or children. Therefore I will only take thee now and my sweet 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 313 

children in mine arms, and kiss and embrace you all, and so 
leave you with God. Farewell, farewell. I bless you all in 
the name of the Lord Jesus.' 

" And it seems to me that even the great souls who wrote or 
translated the Bible of King James — not even Milton himself 

— wrote any finer or more exquisite language, or gave vent to 
higher, more beautiful, or more touching thoughts, than we 
find here. 

"And the whole collection of that devoted and illustrious 
man, Eobert 0. Winthrop, in his ' Life and Letters ' of the 
Governor, furnish so much rich and beautiful, abiding and 
ample thought, that I would recommend the reading of those 
letters and of that journal by every true and earnest student 
of American history. 

" It is a remarkable fact that both the early Governors of the 
early Colony were historians. Bradford was an historian of 
the highest merit, and of the most complete authority ; and so 
in the case of Winthrop. He, too, was an historian and also an 
orator, — not merely a thinker and a statesman, but a man who 
knew how to put his case in the very best way, — and he was 
always confident, and had a right to be confident, that his case 
was a just one. 

"Is it necessary to point out that in the case of both 
Bradford and Winthrop this was a Caesarian quality ? Julius 
Caesar, the one man who could have accomplished the Gallic 
War, was the one man who could have written of the Gallic War 
as Caesar did. And so we find the type of these men of action 
to be also the type of men of action and thought, and the 
historian is frequently the greatest actor in the things of which 
he writes. 

" They gave Winthrop an island in the harbor, and it was 
called the Governor's Garden. It is now occupied by a frown- 
ing fortress. We may say to-day that all New England is the 
Governor's garden. . . . The sermon preached after his death 
spoke of that monument which should always remain to him, 

— Novanglorum mmnia, 'the walls of New England.' Yes; 
but the walls of New England in a changed, expanded form, — 
rising, enlarging, and embracing millions, where a little com- 



314 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENIIALGE. 

munity lived before. And these walls of New England, how- 
ever high they may rise, and whatever glory may be cast upon 
them by the rising and by the setting sun, will always be a 
monument to the self-sacrificing spirit, to the earnest Chris- 
tian purpose, and to the inflexible resolution of that soldier 
of constitutional liberty, the great guardian and preserver of 
the charter, — John Winthrop, Governor of Massachusetts." 

The appointments to office made by Governor Greenhalge 
durinf his three terms met in some instances with criticism, 
and it would have been strange if there had been no case in 
which they were not unanimously approved; but the char- 
acter of the men singled out by him left little to criticise, and 
as a whole his appointments gave general satisfaction to the 
people of the State. It was a somewhat singular fact that his 
predecessor. Governor Eussell, should have had many more 
vacancies to fill in the Judiciary than Governor Greenhalge. 

On January 25 the Governor sent to the Council his first 
list of appointments. 

The first in importance was that of Henry D. Sheldon to be 
Justice of the Superior Court, to succeed Judge Thompson. 
This appointment was a surprise, as Mr. Sheldon, though a 
profound student of law, had never taken any active part in 
politics. He was a classmate of Governor Greenhalge, who, 
besides the strong personal affection which he bore him, had 
the highest appreciation of his judicial ability. Indeed, when 
the opportunity came to him to make this appointment to the 
bench, his first thought was, " Sheldon is the man ; " from this 
opinion he never wavered. 

On April 26 the Governor appointed as Police Commissioner, 
in place of Mr. Lee, whose term had expired, Gen. A. P. Martin, 
and also designated him as Chairman of the Commission, which 
caused much surprise and comment. 

He also nominated, as members of the new Commission of the 
Unemployed, M. D. K. Dewey, of Boston, an instructor at the 
Institute of Technology ; D. F. Moreland, of Woburn, and J. P. 
Carey, of Haverhill. The appointment of the latter, who was a 
socialist, met with much disapproval ; and the Council refused 
to confirm it. The Governor afterward appointed in his place 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 315 

Mr. Perham, of Lowell. Governor Greenhalge never felt, 
however, that his first appointment was a mistake. With a 
board of which one member was a scholar and trained statis- 
tician, and two representative (one conservative and the other 
radical) of the labor elements, he thought that some thoughtful 
and practical solution of the problem might be reached. 

On that same day he appointed to the new position of Asso- 
ciate Justice of the Municipal Court of Boston, Mr. J. B. Lord, 
of Boston. This nomination he afterwards withdrew on the 
Advisory Committee reporting against its confirmation ; later 
he nominated to the position John F. Brown, Clerk of the 
Municipal Court of Boston. 

At the next meeting of the Council the Governor sent in 
the names of Colonel Borden, Mr. Stanton, and Dr. Aldrich as 
members of the Police Commission of Fall Eiver. The latter 
name he afterwards withdrew, and appointed Mr. Joseph 
Healey. 

August 16 the Governor nominated, as members of the 
Metropolitan District Commission on Greater Boston, Mr. B. 
Eice, of Quincy, Osborn Howes, of Brookline, and Charles P. 
Curtis, Jr., of Boston, all of which nominations were confirmed. 

September 13 he sent in the name of George Field Lawton, 
of Lowell, to be Associate Justice of the Probate Court, which 
nomination was confirmed. 

The State Eepublican Convention of 1894 was held in Music 
Hall Saturday, October 6. It was the shortest Eepublican 
convention ever held in Massachusetts ; and the platform, of 
which Senator Hoar was the author, was the briefest in the 
history of the party. The entire ticket of the year before was 
renominated. 

Gen. William Cogswell had been elected chairman of the 
convention, but was too ill to be present ; and Hon. Samuel E. 
Winslow was elected in his place, Mr. Curtis Guild, Jr., reading 
the address which the General had prepared. 

The name of Governor Greenhalge was presented for nomi- 
nation by Senator Lodge, who, in his eloquent speech, said : 
" It has always been the custom of the Eepublicans of Massa- 
chusetts to recognize and reward the faithful services of those 
whom they have placed in the high offices of State and nation. 



31G FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

... In accordance, then, with the good traditions of New Eng- 
land, of Massachusetts, and of Massachusetts Eepublicans, I 
have risen to ask you to show your appreciation of high char- 
acter and distinguished service by nominating the second time 
the present Governor of the State. He led you to a brilliant 
victory last year. He has given you the best fruits of victory 
in an honorable and successful administration of his office. . . . 
He has met all his responsibilities face to face. All bills sent 
to him have met either his approval or his veto. He has 
shown himself cool, brave, and effective in the moment of sud- 
den emergency, diligent and painstaking in the performance 
of daily duty, always and everywhere the fit representative 
of the honor, the intelligence, the free spirit, and the ordered 
liberty of Massachusetts. His eloquent speech, his scholar- 
ship, and his ability have reflected honor upon his State, upon 
his party, and upon himself. We can all be proud of him, 
and we know that he has deserved well of the republic. . . . 
Therefore I ask you to renominate Governor Greenhalge. I 
ask you to do it with the enthusiasm and the determination 
which this year of all years demands. 'Do it with a spirit 
that shall start the earth along.' Nominate him as you were 
wont to nominate Andrew in the days of storm and strife. 
The time is again ripe for such action and such spirit. Then 
an armed South struck at the nation's life. Now an unarmed 
South strikes at the nation's prosperity. Massachusetts did 
not falter then ; she will not fail us now. I move you, sir, 
that Frederic T. Greenhalge, of Lowell, be declared by accla- 
mation the nominee of this convention for the office of Gov- 
ernor of the Commonwealth." 

The name of the Governor was greeted with great enthu- 
siasm, and the motion to nominate him by acclamation was 
carried with a tremendous burst of cheers. There was not a 
single dissenting voice. 

The name of the Lieutenant-Governor, Wolcott, was offered 
for nomination by Hon. Frederic H. Gillette, of Springfield ; he 
also was renominated by acclamation, as were all the other 
nominees. ^ 

In his address of acceptance, which was received with much 
enthusiasm, the Governor spoke as follows : — 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 317 

" Mr. Peesident, and Gentlemen of the Convention, — 
I thank you, Eepublicans of Massachusetts, for the expression 
of continued confidence conveyed in this renomination. The 
year has not been altogether free from trials and perplexities. 
I thank the Legislature, the State ojfficials, and the Executive 
Council, never more serviceable and helpful than now, for most 
efficient co-operation in enabling me to meet these trials and 
perplexities with whatever measure of success may have been 
attained. 

" Nor can I refuse to pay my tribute to our delegation in the 
Fifty-third Congress who have served the State so well, — with 
such fidelity, courage, and wisdom. I rejoice in the presence 
of our honored Senators and Representatives, and I join with 
all my heart in sending a message of good cheer to Gen. 
William Cogswell, of Salem, — ' Good at need ! ' 

" Gentlemen, I believe that the best service to the party can 
only be rendered by the best service to the Commonwealth. 
Good administration is good Republican doctrine and good 
Republican work. It is true that affairs of state are not the 
only matters coming before the people for judgment at this 
time. The affairs of that larger Commonwealth, the whole 
country, must claim our earnest consideration now. We are 
soon to meet our ancient enemy. In what guise does he 
come ? He comes in worse guise than ever before since he 
came as the ally of rebellion and treason. He comes branded 
with the misgovernment of eighteen months, arrayed in the 
shreds and patches of ruined industries, and heralded by the 
execrations of an indignant people. 

" The work of the Democratic party cannot be satisfactory 
to the country ; it is not satisfactory to the Democratic party. 
That work is based upon no principle ; it does not even repre- 
sent Democratic principles. And we have the unparalleled 
spectacle of a great party leader — a Democratic President — 
sounding the knell of his own party, and with blistering words 
stigmatizing the magnum opus of a Democratic Congress as 
the consummation of 'party perfidy and party dishonor.' 

"We are treated to the strange spectacle of a President 
without a party, and a party without a principle. Our oppo- 
nents promised to reduce the burden of taxation. They fulfilled 



318 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

their promise by placing a burden of $45,000,000 on sugar, and 
by imposing an income tax, the nice features of which I leave 
to the ' inner consciousness ' of our Democratic friends. They 
promised to stimulate our foreign commerce, and they destroy 
reciprocity, which had already carried the flag of our commerce 
to new realms, brought profit to American industry and glory 
to the country. Every dollar from the Eepublican system of 
revenue brought life to our enterprise ; every dollar from the 
Democratic system is a deadly blow to our industries. They 
have lifted the burden from the foreign manufacturer and 
placed it on the domestic manufacturer. They have cringed 
and fawned before the throne of a barbaric and dissolute sover- 
eign, and turned their backs upon liberty standing at the gate. 

" They who claim to be Democratic leaders have ' crooked 
the pregnant hinges of the knee ' to monopolies, and have vied 
with each other in servility to trusts. Tariff reform ? What 
crimes are committed in thy name ! How different the record 
of the Republican party ! How its principles shine and glow 
in the letters of living light coming from tlie heart and brain 
of our honored Senator ! You have placed the great standard 
of the party in my hands. I accept it reverently. Let the 
word ring along the Republican lines : Forward to the rescue 
of the country and its best and dearest interests ! Victory 
awaits you, I firmly believe. And when I return this standard 
to you, may every one of the principles blazing upon its folds 
shine out untarnished, clear, and bright as in the golden days 
of Lincoln and Andrew." 

The fall campaign of 1894 was spirited and full of enthusi- 
asm on the part of the Republicans. The series of addresses 
made by Governor Greenhalge equalled the remarkable efforts 
of his first campaign. The feeling of revolt against the Demo- 
cratic regime had increased during the year, and a larger Repub- 
lican vote was confidently expected. The result was even 
more agreeable to the Republicans than they had hoped for, 
and afforded a grand proof that the people were greatly roused, 
and desired to ratify the principles and policies of the Repub- 
lican party by a tremendous vote. 

Twelve Republican Congressmen, out of a total of thirteen, 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 319 

were elected, and the city of Boston was almost lost to the 
Democracy. The vote for Governor was : Eiissell, 123,769 ; 
Greenhalge, 187,435, Governor Greenhalge's plurality being 
63,666. The vote revealed the fact that the Governor had lost 
no prestige during his year of office, and that the people of the 
State were more than satisfied with his administration, — that 
they were enthusiastic, mdeed, and resolute in their determi- 
nation to support him. 

Hon. John E. Eussell was for the second time the Demo- 
cratic candidate for Governor. After the election Governor 
Greenhalge said in an interview : — 

" I am perfectly satisfied with the result. The apparent 
majority, in spite of unfavorable weather and the danger of 
extravagant confidence, is something surprising, and indicates 
the profound feeling of Massachusetts on the great issue of the 
hour. . . . 

" The results in the congressional districts are, of course, 
of chief importance, the State ticket being a secondary issue, 
because it is, as it were, not a disputed issue. If I could give 
of my plurality to help out in the congressional districts in this 
State or elsewhere, I would cheerfully do it. . . . 

" New York is the great pivotal centre. Give the Repub- 
lican party possession there, and I believe that the cause of 
good government, of law and order, will be promoted. . . . 

" If any discrimination for any reason has been made against 
my honored friend and associate, the Lieutenant-Governor, it 
is a grave mistake, which will profit no good cause. He ought 
to have received every vote which was given to me. A truer 
servant of the people in the Executive Council or anywhere else 
I have never found. Petty jealousy or inordinate desire for 
political preferment never entered his mind. Through all the 
trials of a very difficult year I found but one line of action on 
his part, and that was patriotic, intelligent business service to 
the Commonwealth. I have made him chairman of every im- 
portant committee in the Executive Council, and his work has 
been performed as accurately and as efficiently as could be 
done by any man. He is a true son of Massachusetts, with a 
great record of his ancestry before himself which I, even as a 
stranger, am bound to revere. . . . 



320 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" Of course my own congressional district, the Fifth, has been 
a matter of great concern to me. Next to that, I have consid- 
ered the pivotal State of New York. The defeat of Hill means 
vastly more than a mere political controversy. It is a matter 
of morals and decency in free government; and if the methods 
of Hill and Tammany were strengthened and continued, there 
might be danger to constitutional liberty. But the genius of 
the American people in finding out the trouble will always be 
able to save the country. . . . 

" I believe that the result of the election in New York means 
a great contribution to the salvation of free government upon 
the earth. The victory all over this State and country brands 
the Democratic party and policy as unworthy the confidence 
of the American people. " 

As the appointed time came round during his first year of 
office, Governor Greenhalge, following the established custom 
of his predecessors, issued his Thanksgiving Proclamation. 
The spirit of the writer was reverent, and the tone and expres- 
sion of the proclamation are such as were natural to him at a 
time of considerable business depression and hardship to the 
people of Massachusetts. It is equal to the best of those issued 
in the past history of the State. 

THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION, 1894. 
Commontoealtb of Sl^as^jSacbuj^cttj*, 

BY 

Frederic T. Greenhalge, Governor. 

In all the trials and reverses of the past year, the hand of 
the Lord has uplifted us, and the light of his countenance has 
always cheered our souls. Well may the Commonwealth say, 
* Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits, ' and 
well may the voice of thanksgiving rise from all her altars. 

Therefore, by and with the advice and consent of the Council, 
I appoint Thursday, the 27th day of November current, as a 
day of solemn thanksgiving to Almighty God, our Heavenly 
Father. On that day let the whole Commonwealth become 
the holy temple of the living God, wherein shall be heard the 
prayers, praise, and thanksgiving of the people. And on that 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 321 

day, also, let the noble traditions of the Commonwealth glow 
with new life and light, let the wandering children gather 
again in the old homestead, and the comfort and peace of 
every family shall be for a sign that the Lord has watched 
over and preserved us. 

At the celebration of Forefathers' Day in the City of Brook- 
lyn, New York, Dec. 21, 1894, Governor Greenhalge was present. 
The speech that he delivered there was short. He said : — 

" It is quite appropriate that a celebration of Forefathers' 
Day should be held here in Brooklyn, the city of churches, and 
a city strongly marked by New England ideas. New York is 
cosmopolitan and commercial, and must for a time remain so. 
New York is not yet New Englandized, if I may have the 
permission of the ' New York Sun ' to use that word, though 
a strong gust of Puritan freshness and coolness has just blown 
through the island from one end to the other, from the Park to 
the Bowery. And it is well, therefore, to come together in 
Brooklyn and on Forefathers' Day, 1894, two and three quarter 
centuries nearly since the Pilgrim Eepublic was founded, and 
take an account of the descendants of the Forefathers, and of 
their works in the land of their fathers. And the question is, 
Does the line bid fair to perpetuate itself and to continue like 
a parabola into limitless space ? It is to be noted at the outset 
that the Forefathers and their children were not mere money- 
getters, not wholly devoted to commerce and wealth, that their 
chief products were ideas, their richest wealth was the wealth 
of the mind and the soul, and their noblest work — their 
magnum opus — was the establishment of great systems and 
lofty principles inspired by a sublime religious faith and an 
absolute trust in Almighty God. Not a day passed that they 
did not eagerly seek the ' light of his countenance, ' not a line 
of their laws was written which was not based upon his Holy 
Word. 

" Mr. Benjamin Kidd, in his great work on ' Social Evolu- 
tion, ' recently published, demonstrates that the chief factor in 
social evolution among nations is religious belief ; that there 
never has been a rational sanction for the condition of national 
progress, but that nations march on from strength to strength, 

21 



322 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

build cities, overcome enemies, establish empires, under con- 
ditions and influences which are not accepted by mere human 
reason, but which depend upon a super-rational sanction. 

" The Sphinx of Egypt lies buried in the sands of centuries ; 
it is silent ; no gospel falls from its stony lips to guide and 
bless mankind. Plymouth Eock, too, may be covered by the 
tides of ocean or hidden beneath the sands, but the Kock is 
not silent. Its message has gone forth; from that Eock, 
smitten by the rod of the Forefathers, have poured forth, and 
will forever flow, streams of living water to develop and 
fertilize the soil and soul of humanity over not one nation 
alone, but over all the nations of the earth. 

" We come not so much to stand by the graves of the Pil- 
grim Fathers ; we come to glory in the great nation of which 
they were the founders ; we come to learn again in this prac- 
tical nineteenth century from the wisdom of Bradford, to hear 
again the prayer of Brewster, to see again the lost sword of 
Standish flashing from its sheath. 

" The character of the New Englander is as massive, as 
strong, as unyielding, as lofty to-day as it was in the time of 
Bradford and Winthrop. In some respects the New Englander 
is quite as English as the English themselves, if not more so ; 
he has changed less. In other respects he is sui generis. He 
is passionately attached to law and order, to justice, to liberty 
and equality. He is tenacious of his opinion, conservative, 
and yet liberal and tolerant to others. He readily adapts 
himself to new places and new associates ; but the adaptation 
is only skin deep. He retains his ideas, his tastes, his pecu- 
liarities. How many of the gentlemen here have risen discon- 
tented from a banquet like this, from a feast of Lucullus, to 
explore the two cities for a boiled dinner? How many are 
there here who have felt keenly one defect of an otherwise per- 
fect wife, namely, that, not being a New England woman, she 
could not quite give that last touch of grace to that brightest 
glory of the morning, — buckwheat cakes ? And it must be a 
very dull, narrow mind which fails to perceive the intimate 
and indissoluble connection between baked beans and fish-balls 
upon the one hand and the maintenance of civil and religious 
liberty upon the other. He may change his sky, but never 



GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS. 323 

his heart. If he cannot remain in New England, he makes a 
New England wherever he goes. His institutions, his pur- 
poses, his way of life, such as he knew on the hill-farm, in the 
country-store, and the school-house, he is sure are the best in 
the world ; and he insists upon them, whether in the metropolis 
of New York, in Atlanta in the South, or in a brand-new city 
of Colorado. The home, the family, education, religion, — 
these are his Lares and Penates, the foundation of all good 
government and all true happiness. 

"Plato's 'Eepublic' was a dream, Sir Thomas More's 
' Utopia, ' the fancy of a freeman and a scholar writing in the 
shadow of the scaffold, Bacon's ' Atlantis ' never rose from the 
Atlantic main ; but the Forefathers were not merely saints and 
heroes, they were eminently practical men ; and when they 
built their ten rude houses with oil-paper windows, they laid 
the foundations of the first true republic of the world. Its 
majestic pillars rise now from the gulf and lake ; they beat 
back the Atlantic surge on the one hand and glitter with the 
spray of the Pacific on the other; the vast interior gives forth, 
not the ' still, sad music of humanity, ' but the cheerful chorus 
of a great people full of heart and hope, and confident that the 
future holds for them and for their children the highest 
glories of development and achievement in estate, body, mind, 
and soul yet vouchsafed to the sons of men. 

" Will the power of New England be continued and ex- 
tended ? There was a time when the development of manu- 
facture brought a flood of foreign immigration to her shores, 
and at the same time the New England family began to shrink 
in numbers, and the extinction of the great race was foreboded. 
But the thin line never gave way. It was once said, * The 
guard dies, but never surrenders ; ' the vanguard of the human 
race never dies and never surrenders. " 

The first administration of Governor Greenhalge closed with 
the year. It had encountered few criticisms even by the oppo- 
site party. For him it had been a year of incessant activity and 
labor, well repaid by the confidence and esteem of the people. 
At its close his reputation stood very high with all classes. He 
enjoyed their regard, and it was the only recompense he desired. 



324 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENE ALGE. 

The following list of his engagements for the year shows 
unmistakably the immense amount of labor he had undergone. 
It stands, I should say, unrivalled in this respect. On nearly 
all these occasions he was expected to speak, and did. 

Anniversaries 5 

Balls 25 

Banquets Ill 

Board of Trade Meetings 11 

Military Camps 5 

Commencements 8 

Convention and Campaign Speeches ... 20 

Dedication Addresses 5 

Exercises — School and Society .... 22 

Fairs, etc 29 

G. A. K. Meetings 20 

Lectures 17 

Official Meetings, etc 69 

Receptions 12 

Reviews 7 

"Weddings 3 

Women's Clubs, etc 10 

Total 379 

All these burdens were additional to the responsibilities and 
duties that properly belong to the executive office. 

It is a matter of regret that he should have been compelled 
to answer so many unnecessary calls, so many demands upon 
his strength. Occasions insignificant in themselves became 
serious in their results, taxing as they did so severely his vital 
forces in the fulfilment of their demands. He felt it to be his 
duty to answer them all, and he did so far as he could. It was 
not because he enjoyed public appearances and displays. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 

The inauguration of Governor Greenhalge for his second term 
occurred Jan. 3, 1895. His first year of office had been very 
successful, and the second was to prove not less so. The 
Governor looked forward to it with confidence, unmindful of 
its fatigues and hazards. The calls upon his time and energy 
were not lessened, but continued to impose a great burden upon 
his strength. His second inaugural address, delivered Jan. 
3, 1895, was pronounced by the papers of the day " a clear, 
reasonable, common-sense statement of the public business of 
the Commonwealth, " " a strong, direct plea for comprehensive 
legislation, " " characterized by good judgment and good taste. " 
We give the conclusion of the document : — 

"Charity, gracious but inexorable, demands from you the 
magnanimous response which Massachusetts has never failed 
to give. Education lays its imperial tax upon the treasury 
with an autocratic power readily acknowledged and obeyed by 
the intelligence and conscience of the people. Justice insists 
that her temples shall be kept pure ; that the ermine of our 
judiciary shall continue to be spotless ; that the profession of 
the law shall be the practice of exalted principles developed by 
the wisdom of ages ; and that juries shall be ' good and true 
men,' fit to decide honestly and wisely the rights of intelligent 
freemen. 

"Comprehensive legislation, not multiplicity of legislation, 
is to be sought ; the principle multum non midta may well be 
followed in your law-making labors. Special legislation is to 
be discouraged on all accounts. 

" You meet for the first time in this noble and classic hall ; 
and may the great memories and associations which cluster 



326 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

around the venerable building which you have left be only the 
forerunners of the patriotic labors and achievements to be done 
and performed here by you and your successors, and which 
shall consecrate and endear this grand structure to the hearts 
of the people to the latest generation ! 

" May the true voice of the people always be heard in these 
halls ; may the people inspire their representatives, and may 
their representatives in turn inspire the people ; may this build- 
ing, as long as one stone rests upon another, be the temple of 
constitutional liberty; here let the tongue of the demagogue 
cleave to the roof of his mouth ; let the right hand of the 
anarchist forget its cunning; let these walls echo only with 
the loftiest hopes and the grandest purposes of freemen ; may 
here forever be found the clear and incorruptible source of 
the wise, just, and equal legislation of an intelligent, liberal- 
minded, high-souled people, ever true to the purpose of the 
Father, directing all their efforts ' to the end that this may be 
a government of laws and not of men ' ! " 

The most important appointments of Governor Greenhalge's 
second year of office were those of Mr. F. A. Gaskill as a 
Justice of the Superior Court; Mr. Charles P. Curtis as a 
member of the Police Commission, to succeed Mr. Albert S. 
Whiting, whose term had expired ; and to succeed Mr. Curtis 
on the Commission of Greater Boston, Mr. William Power 
Wilson, As members of the Water Supply Commission, he 
appointed Messrs. H. H. Sprague, of Boston, Wilmot Evans, of 
Everett, and Hon. J. J. Whipple, of Brockton. Mr. Augustus 
Hemmenway was appointed to the Metropolitan Park Commis- 
sion, in place of Mr. Charles Francis Adams, who had resigned. 

All of these appointments were confirmed by the Council, 
except that of Hon. J. J. Whipple ; and in his stead the Gov- 
ernor appointed Mr. J. J. Freeman, of Winchester. 

January 25 Governor Greenhalge, after much consideration 
of the question, finally refused to pardon Sanborn and Bailey, 
the Old Colony officials, at that time confined in Plymouth 
jail under sentence of the courts. The circumstances of this 
case were such as to give a new proof of the Governor's 
courage in his final action upon the question, and his decision 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 327 

brought him high commendation from many quarters. The 
sentence of these men was due to the following cause : August 
16, 1893, the Abington Street Eailway Company attempted to 
lay their tracks across those of the New York, New Haven, 
and Hartford Eailroad at a street-crossing in Abington. Their 
right to do so was disputed by the Eailroad Company, and 
some of the officials of the latter — Sanborn and Bailey and 
others — were present with a large force of men. 

It was afterward claimed by the railroad people that their 
only intention was to use constructive force, and to make a 
test case for the courts. However, a large crowd of people had 
assembled ; and the result was a disturbance that ended in a riot, 
and acts were committed that were clearly against the laws of 
the State. The railroad officials upon whom the respon- 
sibility of the riot rested were gentlemen held in high esteem 
in the community. Captain Sanborn, who had served bravely 
in the War of the Eebellion, was a friend of the Governor, and 
much respected by him. 

Mr. Eobert 0. Harris, the district attorney in charge of the 
case, who highly appreciated the courage Governor Greenhalge 
displayed in the matter, writes as follows of the course the 
case took in the courts, and the pardon subsequently granted 
by the Council, which lacked only the Governor's assent to 
take effect : — 

" On Aug. 16, 1893, the riot took place at North Abing- 
ton. At the next term of the Superior Court at Plymouth, in 
October, five of the railroad men were indicted for riot. 

" By order of the court, the cases were continued for trial 
until the next term, in February, 1894. In February they 
were again continued until the June term, and at that term 
the defendants pleaded nolo contendere, and the cases were 
continued for sentence to the October term. 

" At the October term, on the sixth day of November, the 
defendants were called for sentence ; and Judge Sherman im- 
posed sentences of four months in the House of Correction on 
two of the five, and two months for each of the other three. 
The sentences were a surprise, as it was hoped that the court 
would impose fines only, as the railroad had made good all 
damages caused during the riot. Judge Sherman, however. 



328 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

thought that fine would not be adequate punishment, and gave 
the sentences of imprisonment. On the eighth day of Novem- 
ber, two days after sentence was imposed, petitions were filed 
for pardon, and hearings were given by the Committee on Par- 
dons, and pardon was denied. 

" In January, 1895, the two months' sentences ran out, and 
a new petition for pardon of the other two was filed, and a 
strong effort was made before the committee. In January 
the Council voted, by a vote of six to three, to recommend the 
granting of the pardon, thus leaving the matter entirely to 
the Governor. A very great effort was made to induce him 
to concur in the recommendation of the Council and grant the 
pardon, and he was besieged by petitions, letters, and the 
personal requests of many of his best friends and supporters, 
to sign it. 

" Notwithstanding the pressure brought to bear upon him, 
he recognized the dangers of such a course, and on January 
25 finally refused to concur with the Council, and refused 
the pardon. This incident in his career is useful as demon- 
strating his full appreciation of the dignity of his office, his 
duties to the people, and his splendid courage in acting always 
in accordance with what he believed to be right, even though 
personal friendship and self-interest might offer more attrac- 
tive and easy paths to travel in. " 

Mr. Harris concludes by saying " The Governor's refusal to 
grant a pardon after the Council had by so decided a vote 
recommended him to do so, showed the man in his full power 
and vigor. " 

Among many favorable and complimentary editorials in 
other papers, the " Boston Transcript " said : " The refusal of 
Governor Greenhalge to pardon the Old Colony officials goes 
far to enforce one wholesome lesson. The act committed by 
these men was clearly and unmistakably in violation of the 
laws of the land. It is admitted that they had no personal 
criminal intent. They knew that what they did was a viola- 
tion of law, but they considered the employing corporation 
as responsible. The lesson above spoken of is that this cannot 
be ; that the order of a corporation does not protect a man in 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 329 

the commission of crime any more than the order of any idle 
loafer in the street. " 

Kef using to sign the pardon of Messrs. Sanborn and Bailey, 
the Governor said to the Council : — 

" I consider the case of Sanborn and Bailey, petitioners for 
pardon, as one of the most important matters yet submitted to 
the Governor and Council. The language of the Constitution 
as to the pardoning power is as follows : * The power of par- 
doning offences, except such as persons may be convicted of 
before the Senate by impeachment of the House, shall be in 
the Governor, by and with the advice of the Council. ' 

" The meaning of this provision seems clear, though the lan- 
guage is peculiar. Under this provision a committee on par- 
dons is appointed by the Governor, and after a preliminary 
examination by him of an application for pardon, to see if 
there is any reasonable ground for an inquiry, the application 
is referred to the Committee on Pardons of the Council. The 
investigation, examination of testimony, the hearing of argu- 
ments, are conducted by this committee alone, and it is clear 
that their conclusions are entitled to great respect and con- 
sideration. The application now before us took the usual 
course. It was referred to the Committee on Pardons, and a 
long, careful, and patient hearing was given to the case. The 
committee by a vote of three to two recommended that a 
pardon be not granted. This recommendation was reversed by 
a full Council ; and by a vote of six to three, it was recom- 
mended that pardon be granted. 

" A grave responsibility is thus imposed upon the Governor. 
He must reject the conclusions of the Committee on Pardons, 
which has been specially deputed by himself to investigate the 
matter; or he must reject the advice of the majority of the 
Council. It is incumbent upon him, therefore, to consider 
carefully the facts and the law of the case, as well as his rela- 
tions to the Council and his duty to the Commonwealth. 

" The persons interested in this application are of no ordinary 
character. They are all, including those who have just served 
out their sentence for the same offence, men of high standing 
in the community, and up to the time of this unfortunate 
occurrence of unblemished reputation ; and the excellent per- 



330 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

sonal qualities of one or more of them have enlisted the warm 
sympathy of many, and make it very difficult for the executive 
to refuse them clemency. . . . 

" It has been claimed that the sentence of the court was 
severe, erratic, and sensational ; that an agreement between 
counsel and the district attorney, by which the petitioners 
were induced to plead nolo contendere upon condition that they 
should be required only to pay a fine without imprisonment, 
was ignored by the court. 

" Another claim is that the petitioners were deprived of a 
trial through a misunderstanding between their counsel and the 
district attorney, or by the disregard of this agreement by a 
judge anxious for the notoriety which comes from ad captaiulum 
sentences. But frequently opportunity for trial had been 
offered to the petitioners. Many prisoners may well claim 
that their cause has suffered by reason of unwise counsel, and 
to admit such a claim might result in a general jail delivery. 

" These petitioners had the opportunity of a trial by jury. 
If they by themselves or counsel declined that opportunity, 
they must accept the result. There was no mis-trial, mis- 
carriage, or failure of justice ; there was no such error to be 
corrected as would be implied to exist by granting a pardon. 
In fact, the arguments advanced for the pardon of Sanborn and 
Bailey will apply with even greater force to many unfortunates 
now confined in the penal institutions in the Commonwealth. 
Messrs. Sanborn and Bailey represent another and a very dif- 
ferent type, but the same and even a greater degree of re- 
sponsibility must apply to them ; and no consideration for 
clemency or favor should be expected which would not apply, 
if possible, with greater force to the humblest citizen in the 
Commonwealth. . . . 

" It is argued also that the offence of these petitioners has 
been fully vindicated, and that furthermore the quality of the 
offence had been exaggerated, and that all that was contem- 
plated by the railroad was a formal act to make a case for the 
courts. 

" This last plea seems to be one of the chief grounds of 
defence ; but to effect such a purpose as that mentioned, a 
small party of men would have been sufficient. 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 331 

" It has been said that it was important for the railroad to 
prevent the crossing of its tracks, because if the street railway- 
succeeded in its purpose, the rights of the Old Colony would 
be lost or impaired. I know of no such principle of law as 
is here intimated. The crossing, or attempt to cross, the steam 
railroad by the street railway would of itself have presented 
just such an issue as would have enabled the parties to resort 
to the courts. But starting for Abington with a considerable 
number of men, perhaps sixty, and finding a crowd of persons 
assembled at the crossing at Abington, the Old Colony Eail- 
road officials finally secured a force of more than one hundred 
and thirty men. 

" The street railway had obtained a permit from the select- 
men of Abington to cross the Old Colony track at this point. 
It was, therefore, acting under color of law, and the steam 
railway was not. 

" While the crowd at Abington may not have legally assem- 
bled, that fact could not justify the Old Colony Eailroad in any 
proceedings calculated to provoke a breach of peace even in 
the honest desire to maintain its legal rights. . . . 

" The law does not favor the assertion of even an undoubted 
right by means of violence or the show of violence ; even a 
landlord, in attempting to evict a tenant or to obtain possession 
of his own real estate, commits a breach of the peace at his 
peril, and it is safer for him to resort to his complaint for 
possession, for his writ of entry, to maintain his rights. 

" The very assembling of such a force as these petitioners 
had, and conveying it into the town of Abington, as was done, 
was a menace to the peace of the Commonwealth ; and its very 
appearance was likely to bring about a collision, as actually 
happened, and result in a most serious affray and riot. While 
these petitioners, then, might have had no design to use force, 
or to make an attack upon any person, their demonstration, 
their appearance, could not but create disorder, apprehension, 
and indignation. The massing of a large number of men or 
women to assert a legal claim by a show of force is very much 
like a naval * demonstration * which comes very near to being 
an act of war ; and such an assembly in a peaceful Common- 
wealth is fraught with untold evil, and likely to precipitate 
tumults and affrays. 



332 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" It has been argued that the railroad was serving humanity 
in opposing a grade crossing, but even the humane purposes of 
railroads must be effected by legal and suitable means. Why 
local authorities continue to legalize and multiply grade cross- 
ing it is hard to say in the light of civilization, but we cannot 
even abolish grade crossings by force and without due process 
of law. 

" These petitioners were acting under orders, it appears, and 
it is conceded that, except to direct the taking up of a portion 
of the street railway track within the limits of their own loca- 
tion, that is, the Old Colony's, they committed no acts of 
violence. It is said they were loyal to the railroad, to their 
superiors ; and this appears to be true. But in so doing any 
act of violence, or making any show of violence, they took 
their own risk. Loyalty to the Commonwealth, to the law, 
and to the public peace comes before loyalty to their supe- 
riors. . . . 

" My personal sympathy goes out to these men ; I could have 
wished to find some good grounds upon which a pardon could 
be granted. Their offence in a moral sense is chargeable to 
others. 

" It has been alleged that Mr. Sanborn, a brave army officer 
in the War of the Eebellion, has been treated harshly in being 
forced to work in prison in spite of disability caused by a 
wound received in the service of his country. If through any 
peculiar notions of prison discipline in the treatment of pris- 
oners the condition of his health has not been taken into 
account, that matter can speedily be set right. With the sturdy 
manliness and honesty which marked the man, he leaves to 
others the task of making that claim. 

" It has been stated that the vote of the Council is a vindi- 
cation of these petitioners ; it may possibly be taken at least as 
an intimation that a majority of the Council regard this offence 
as technical, or slight, or as having been sufficiently atoned 
for. But public considerations of a high character seem to 
require me to refuse a pardon, even though recommended by 
my constitutional advisers, for whom I have the greatest re- 
spect and esteem. 

" Massachusetts prides herself on the maintenance of law 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 333 

and order. Public opinion will not approve any remission of 
the punishment, because the act for which punishment was 
inflicted is felt to be an invasion of public rights and a breach 
of law and order. As long as we have a just and impartial 
government, it can never be admitted for a moment that an 
appeal to force in the assertion of legal rights can be tolerated 
or condoned, either in the case of corporations or individuals. 
" I must, therefore, decline to grant the pardon. " 

The vetoes of Greenhalge's second year of office were as 
notable as those of the first. The first in importance was the 
Veterans' Preference Bill, already referred to in these pages. 
The veto of the Holyoke Police Bill, and others similar to 
it, were generally approved ; and the principles of government 
which induced his action were recognized as just and wise by 
the people of the State. 

On Feb. 13, 1895, the Governor sent to the Legislature the 
first veto of the year, — a veto of the bill to remove the restric- 
tions upon shad and alewife fishing in the Merrimac Eiver, a 
bill which he had already vetoed the previous year. This bill 
was passed over the veto by a four-fifths vote. 

March 27 the Governor was called upon to inaugurate the 
important work of the Boston Subway. Accompanied by 
Colonel Kenny of his staff, he met at the Public Garden 
the members of the Transit Commission, the engineer in 
charge of the work on the subway, and the contractors. It 
was a few minutes after nine o'clock when the Governor took 
a shining spade, and, holding it before him, said impressively 
to Chairman Crocker : " Mr. Crocker, of the Transit Commis- 
sion of Boston, I hereby tender to you this spade, with which 
you will begin the work on the subway that has been designed 
by the city of Boston ; and I trust that great relief and com- 
fort will come to the municipality when the plans, as laid 
out by you and your associates, shall have been fully carried 
out. " 

Chairman Crocker took the spade, and, after a few words in 
reply to the Governor, lifted the first earth for the excavation 
of the subway. Thus quietly and simply was inaugurated the 
great work of the Boston Subway, — a work in which the 



334 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Governor took the greatest interest, but the completion of 
which he was not to live to see. 

May 17 the Governor sent in his veto of the Holyoke 
Police Bill. The object of this bill was to place the city of 
Holyoke under the control of the Metropolitan or State police. 

The necessity of this change the Governor did not recognize ; 
though he sympathized with every movement tending to bring 
about a better condition in the public government of the cities 
of the Commonwealth, he thought this general principle of 
taking the control of the police of municipalities from the 
citizens to place them under that of the State was in some 
danger of being carried too far. He therefore vetoed this bill, 
and others similar, which came before him, when he thought 
it to be in the interests of sound Eepublican government. 

He was undoubtedly right in his action. The faults that 
appear in the present method and system of the partisan 
government of American cities will be eradicated when the 
citizens can be brought to take a more active part in municipal 
politics, and not to leave their power unexercised by them to 
fall into the hands of unprincipled men ; or, better still, if 
they can be induced to unite in the interests of good govern- 
ment irrespective of party. The duty of good citizenship con- 
sists in the exercise by the people of all its rights and the 
fulfilment of all its responsibilities. Wliatever conduces to 
the exercise of those rights by the people, is right in prin- 
ciple ; whatever dulls their consciousness of responsibility 
and power, is wrong. In his message the Governor said: — 

" Several hearings have taken place before me in regard to 
this bill. As a result of those hearings, and from information 
derived from various sources, the following facts appear to be 
clearly established : — 

" 1st. Up to within a very recent period the condition and 
conduct of public affairs in the city of Holyoke were marked by 
disorder and lawlessness. 

" 2d. Since the establishment of the present Board of License 
Commissioners, a decided and substantial improvement has 
been made. 

" 3d. The License Commissioners were appointed by the 
Mayor of Holyoke, and their administration has been dis- 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 335 

tinguished by integrity, diligence, general efficiency, and 
success. 

" 4th. It appears that the public-spirited citizens of Holyoke, 
without distinction of party, have united on several occasions, 
and have been enabled to elect able and honest chief 
magistrates. 

" 5th. That the police of Holyoke appear to have given all 
necessary assistance to the License Board in its official work, 
and that the present Mayor has the confidence of the public- 
spirited citizens of Holyoke. 

" While it may be well to give police power to the License 
Board, as was done in the city of Lowell, the question arises 
whether the State authorities or the local authorities should 
have the appointment of the officials charged with these mul- 
tiform and most responsible duties. 

" It is clear that the Governor must always come to this task 
under disadvantages. He can seldom have personal knowl- 
edge of the candidates ; he must depend upon others, often 
partisans or interested parties, for information ; his judgment 
must often be at second hand : but the important principle of 
local self-government — the autonomy of the city or town — 
is a material factor in this inquiry, 

" Every citizen may claim the right of trial by a jury of the 
vicinage, and while the guardians of the public peace are agents 
of the Commonwealth, it has always been deemed best, except 
in special and extraordinary cases, that they should be selected 
by the local authorities, who have the best means of knowing 
their qualifications, and that those who have the best means of 
observing the manner in which officials discharge their duty 
should have the power of appointment and removal. 

" The case of the city of Holyoke does not seem to be analo- 
gous to that of the city of Boston or of the city of Fall Eiver. 
The former is not only the city of Boston, but may be regarded 
as in a certain degree the city of Massachusetts, in which many 
persons not legal citizens thereof have vast property or business 
interests, and which almost every citizen of Massachusetts 
visits more or less frequently, and in which all take a peculiar 
and profound interest. 

"In the city of Fall Eiver the friends of law and order 



336 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

appeared for a time to be unable to make head against selfish 
and demoralizing influences, and were compelled to ask the 
aid of the Commonwealth to assist them in a great unusual 
emergency. 

" The city of Holyoke appears to have within itself the vital 
and recuperative energy requisite to effect its own complete 
deliverance from all its difficulties. Holyoke is now on its 
way to pure and economical government ; and the result has been 
achieved by the courage, vigor, and patience of its own citizens. 
I do not believe that the power of appointment of the Board of 
Police as contemplated in the proposed Act should be given to 
the Governor. The principle involved militates against the 
independence of municipalities, and, while necessary in ex- 
traordinary cases, should be diminished instead of extended. 
I therefore decline to approve the Act. " 

This veto was followed on the 22d of the same month by that 
of the Woburn Police Bill. In both these vetoes the Governor 
was sustained by the Legislature. 

June 1st the Governor signed the bill giving a new charter 
to the city of Boston. It was insisted by the Democratic party 
that this bill should have a referendum attached to it, and the 
question be given up to the decision of the citizens of Boston. 

The Governor believed in the exercise of all their political 
rights by the people in every case where practicable, but he also 
thought the present bill too complicated to be submitted to 
them. He gave his reasons as follows : — 

"As to the propriety of submitting such a measure to the 
people, I scarcely think this is a case where the approval of 
the citizens of Boston should be asked. In the first place, it 
is decidedly complicated, necessarily perhaps ; and it is hardly 
to be expected that all should be so far acquainted with the 
mechanism of government as to pass on it understandingly. 

" Only broad plain propositions, involving a principle and 
radical departures, should be subjects of referendum. I do not 
conceive that the bill I have signed involves any such princi- 
ples. It is mostly concerned with and contemplates matter 
of detail and changes in method of procedure. For instance, 
the change from three-headed commissioners to single-headed 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 337 

departments is, after all, but a change in the manner of trans- 
acting the business of the city. 

" The lengthening of the term of the mayor is probably the 
most important feature. But of late years the tendency has 
been continually in the direction of extending the office of the 
chief executive generally. The sentiment is decidedly in favor 
of extending the term of office of the Governor of the 
Commonwealth. 

" I anticipate no evil results from the lengthening of the 
mayor's term ; for, after all, the mayor of a city like Boston 
needs a year to become familiarized with his duties, and for a 
proper appreciation of the city's affairs. 

" Personally I might have drawn a different charter ; that 
makes no difference, however. I did not draw it, and do not 
place what I might have done against that which has been 
done. It is only where a measure is in any respect uncon- 
stitutional, or where a wrong would be likely to ensue from its 
operation, that a governor is called upon to use his prerogative 
and veto it. 

" I think that the amendments of the charter of Boston will 
on the whole give satisfaction to her citizens, and find favor 
with those interested in and anxious for good government." 

Of the Governor's vetoes, there was none that excited more 
interest or called forth more commendation than that of the 
Veterans' Preference Bill, — a bill which gave to the veterans 
of the War of the Eebellion the preference for employment in 
the public service, and moreover exempted them from the civil- 
service examinations, requiring only a sworn statement of the 
applicant that he is qualified to perform the duties of such 
office as he seeks, accompanied by a certificate, signed by three 
citizens of good repute, stating their knowledge of the appli- 
cant's competency. 

On the morning of June 3d the Governor sent to the Legis- 
lature the veto message : — 

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives : 

I return without my approval Senate Bill No. 317, entitled 
"An Act relative to the preference of veterans for employment 
in the public service," and assign the following reasons : — 

22 



338 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

The language of the proposed Act is somewhat ambiguous, 
and the provisions do not seem to be harmonious. Section 1 
provides for the preference of veterans who have been exam- 
ined and found qualified, and apparently without regard to the 
age limit. 

Section 2 provides for the absolute preference of veterans 
to all other applicants except women ; it further permits the 
age limit to be disregarded, and a civil-service rule which 
may be modified at any time is thus modified or controlled by 
statute. It would seem as if most, if not all, of the applica- 
tions would be made under Section 2, where no examination is 
necessary. 

Section 3 apparently is intended to emphasize section 1. 

Section 4 provides that within five days the Civil Service 
Commission shall, after any examination or certification of can- 
didates, cause a list of names of those examined to be prepared, 
with the standing attained, and said lists shall be opened to 
public inspection from 10 A. M. to 3 p. M. I am informed that 
it will be scarcely possible to carry out the provisions of this 
section in so short a time as five days. 

Section 5 provides penalties for violations of the law. 

Section 6 provides that the word " application," as used in 
this Act, shall be construed to mean a petition for employment, 
containing a sworn statement by the applicant that he is quali- 
fied to perform the duties of the position which he seeks, and 
accompanied by certificates from three citizens of good repute 
in the community, stating that they know said applicant to be 
fully competent to perform the duties of the position sought. 

It will be observed that the citizens who are to furnish 
certificates of the applicant's fitness are not required to make 
oath to their statements, while the applicant himself is. The 
reason of this distinction does not seem clear, but it is plain 
that the power of selection and appointment is given to the 
applicant and " three citizens of good repute," and taken away 
from the magistrates chosen or appointed to perform this re- 
sponsible duty. 

This section also defines " veteran " as a " person who served 
in the United States army or navy during the War of the Eebel- 
lion, and was honorably discharged therefrom," thus excluding 



. SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 339 

from the benefits of the Act the men who served under Custer 
or in any Indian warfare, who are included in the Civil Service 
Act and existing rules. In view of these proposed radical 
alterations in the existing law, the following considerations are 
offered as bearing on the question involved : — 

In administering the public service, the authorities are by 
the spirit of the Constitution and the laws bound to obtain the 
best service possible. Any attempt to so limit and hamper the 
appointing authority as to prevent the best possible selection 
for the performance of a public duty is an injury done to the 
Commonwealth and to the people. It is the duty and should 
be the aim of every magistrate to secure to the Commonwealth 
as perfect a public service as can be obtained ; and if the ad- 
ministration of the public service is confused by efforts to turn 
it into a system of bounty or reward, instead of qualification 
and merit, such a duty is made impossible of performance, and 
such a laudable aim is defeated. Under existing law the vet- 
eran may, without examination, be placed upon the qualified 
list and have preference over others equally qualified. 

With these provisions, preference may now be given to the 
veteran, while at the same time the principles of good adminis- 
tration of the public service are not violated ; and the large 
number of appointments of veterans will serve to prove that 
in State, county, town, and in all departments, the authorities 
have, wherever the public interests permitted, given preference 
to the veterans. 

Since 1885, when the civil-service rules went into effect, 
nearly twenty-seven per cent of all the appointments and pro- 
motions (excluding positions held by women or where the age 
limit governs) have been of veterans. The gratitude and 
respect felt towards the veteran seldom fail to manifest them- 
selves wherever opportunity offers. 

Massachusetts has gained renown by her system of civil- 
service reform, that system has been copied by other States, 
and its rules and regulations obtain wider imitation every day. 
Massachusetts was the first to apply the system to the day 
laborer. President Harrison and Secretary Tracy adopted the 
principle, and applied it to the navy yards of the country. The 
proposed Act will be a severe blow to this system, and is not 



340 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

in the true interests of the veteran. The principle has been 
tried and approved ; it has benefited the cause of free govern- 
ment much, and will produce greater results in the future. 

The veteran will not destroy any system which makes for 
the good of his country and State, which tends to preserve the 
safety and to enhance the glory of the republic he preserved. 

I earnestly beg you to take this important subject once 
more into your most serious consideration. 

Feedekic T. Gkeenhalge. 

On the afternoon of that same day the House of Eepresenta- 
tives passed the bill over the Governor's veto by a vote of 
172 to 23, which example was later followed by the Senate 
by a vote of 28 to 7. 

Among the many letters of congratulation which the Gov- 
ernor received in regard to this veto, none pleased him more than 
those from the veterans themselves. Of these he received many, 
all breathing the same sentiment of gratitude for his attempt to 
preserve the honor of the old soldier. As it may be interesting 
to see how this Veterans' Bill was regarded by some of these 
old soldiers, we quote two of the Governor's many letters : — 

My deae Goveenoe, — Permit me as an old friend, a mem- 
ber of the Grand Army of the Eepublic, but above all as a 
citizen of Massachusetts, to thank you for the veto of the 
" Preference Bill." 

Whatever may be the action of our representatives at the 
State House, I feel very sure that their feelings are in accord 
with the large majority outside of the legislative halls. Even 
in the G. A. K. I believe the majority will approve of your 
action; for it is only the barking minority that have been 
heard in favor of this bill, and whose influence has carried it 
through. Thanks again for your courage and sound sense in 
this action. 

Sincerely yours, C. H. C . 

My deae Goveenoe, — As a private volunteer ex-soldier 
who enlisted as soon as Fort Sumter was fired upon, and 
served until disabled by wounds, I wish to thank you for your 
courageous attitude in your veto of the Veterans' Exemption 



.SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 341 

Bill. . . . You have done the cause of good government and 
the reform of the civil service a great benefit, and have added a 
new obligation to the many which the people of this Common- 
wealth owe you for your manly independence and distinguished 
services. I was born an abolitionist, brought up a free-soiler, 
and naturally upon attaining man's estate became a Republican ; 
and I continued to be a Eepublican until driven out of the 
party by disgust with some of the demagogues who have held 
high positions within its ranks. Nothing that one man has 
ever done or said has so inclined me to a return of allegiance 
to the party which you so honorably represent in this Com- 
monwealth as your last veto ; and if the recording of my vote 
for you for any office in the gift of the people to which you are 
willing to accept the nomination constitutes me a Republican, 
I am one already. 

Again thanking you for your endeavor to save the good 
name of the veteran soldiers from the political blatherskites 
who would drag it in the mud, 

I am, etc. 

The " Boston Transcript " of June 3d contained the following 
editorial in praise of the Governor's action : — 

" The veto power has seldom been used with greater judg- 
ment either in this State or in the United States than by 
Governor Greenhalge to-day, in returning without his signa- 
ture the Veterans' Preference Bill to the branch in which it 
originated. 

" Governor Greenhalge has been winning golden opinions 
from all classes for the freedom and good judgment with which 
he has called upon the Legislature to reconsider its action on 
bills having a chiefly local significance. This is the first time 
in his political career that he has been summoned to exercise 
the authority vested in him by the State Constitution on what 
may fairly be called a great political question. He asks the 
Legislature to reconsider its recent action, and vote against 
a bill which it adopted in order to obtain the soldiers' vote, 
and for nothing else. . . . 

" The other day Senator Hoar said that Governor Greenhalge 
had that degree of inspiration as a public man which stops very 



342 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

little short of genius. But he has something fully as impor- 
tant in a Governor. He has pluck, undoubted pluck, and 
will do his duty as he sees it, with little regard to the opposi- 
tion his course may arouse. Ever since he has been in the 
gubernatorial chair, he has been a growing man. And now 
the people of the country will see in him a Governor of 
statesmanlike proportions, — a worthy successor of John A. 
Andrew." 

The vote passing this bill over the Governor's wise and 
fearless veto by a majority of 172 to 23 is a truly astonishing 
example of the power over the minds of men of a patriotic 
principle carried to such an extreme as to obscure totally the 
pure vision of justice. 

The Eepublican party seems sometimes a little bewildered 
by its memories of the heroic past. Ciesar himself, who planted 
his soldiers over all the land of Italy without regarding a 
single right of possession and occupancy, might have had some 
regard for the efficiency of the public service, — which this bill 
put at the mercy of chance. 

During this year the Governor vetoed several bQls to raise 
the salaries of public officials. The first of these was an act to 
increase the salary of the Clerk of the Police Commission. In 
his veto of this bill the Governor said : — 

" While it is true many inequalities are to be found in the 
scale of salaries as now established in the various departments 
of the Commonwealth which ought at some suitable time to be 
adjusted or corrected, I am of the opinion that the present 
year does not offer favorable opportunity for securing such a 
result. 

" The tendency in private enterprises has been towards 
rigorous economy, reduction in the number of employees, and 
in salaries and wages. The profits of business are small, and 
competition is close and severe. In such a condition of affairs 
it would seem inconsistent for the Commonwealth to move in 
the opposite direction, and to adopt the general policy of in- 
creasing rather than diminishing the salaries of public officials, 
however plausible might seem the reasons for such a course. 

" Without any disparagement to the ability and efficiency of 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 343 

the official named in this act, and regarding the claim that the 
city of Boston is chiefly concerned in this increase in salary as 
not affecting the principle involved, I respectfully decline to 
approve this Act." 

The first of these vetoes, that of the Clerk of the Police Com- 
mission, the Legislature refused to sustain, and the bill was 
passed by a large vote ; in most of the others the Governor 
was sustained. 

On June 19, 1895, Governor Greenhalge was present on the 
occasion of the Masonic celebration at Bunker Hill, in com- 
memoration of Gen. Joseph Warren. The Governor's speech 
was eloquent and timely, — one of the most brilliant of his 
many speeches. We give the conclusion : — 

" Let the message of Warren to-day strike this dark spirit 
as a scorching blast of God's lightning. Take these self-seek- 
ers at this moment. Let them stand, if they dare, in the pres- 
ence of this ' sceptred spirit of the past,' this patriot who flung 
his all into the scale when his country's fate trembled in 
the balance, — rank, fortune, and future hope and ambition, 
and life itself; who with the highest commission on the field 
drew that sword of Bunker Hill as a volunteer and fought as 
a private soldier where he might have demanded obedience as 
a leader. So ^schylus fought at Marathon ; and of such 
patriots are everlasting commonwealths composed. ' The great- 
est gift a hero leaves his race is to have been a hero.' 

" What sort of commonwealth did Warren wish to build ? 
He had seen and sighed over the wrongs and follies of ancient 
governments. He desired a new commonwealth, which should 
give freedom, hope, repose, and comfort to its people. He de- 
sired to build up 

'A commonwealth whose potent unity and concentric force 
Can draw these scattered joints and parts of men 
Into a whole ideal man. once more ; 
Which sucks not from its limbs the life away, 
But sends its flood tide and creates itself 
Over again in every citizen.' 

" If there are evils in the Commonwealth, some of the fault 
is yours ; if there are glories, some portion should be yours. 



344 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" Patriotism calls to-day, not for great sacrifices, not for life 
or fortune. Patriotism calls for patient labor in quiet paths, 
for endurance of abuse, misrepresentation, association and con- 
tact with the selfish and ignorant. Are you not willing to 
take up the burden, to fight for your country even in obscure 
places ? Do you wish to drive hard bargains with your coun- 
try, to sell your service at an exorbitant price, to stand 
Shylock-like upon your bond to exact your pound of flesh 
from the spot nearest to the heart ? Are you eager, not to 
perform, but to evade your duty as a citizen in the militia, 
the jury-box, the caucus, the town-meeting, — in the church, 
in the hospital, in charity or brotherly service ? Then the 
brand of treason is upon you, and the message of Warren will 
come as a curse and not a blessing. 

" A great orator once exclaimed on this hill : ' Is Warren 
dead ? Can we not see him, the rose of heaven on his cheek, 
the fire of liberty in his eye ? ' 

" Is Warren dead ? I repeat. No, he lives to-day. He lives in 
every star on every flag. He lives in the kindling eye of that 
old patriot who stood here fifty years ago. He lives in the heart 
of every boy and girl of Charlestown and of the country. He 
lives in every noble purpose, in every patriotic impulse. Hear 
his message ; keep his memory green. Imitate his example. 

" Here Warren fell, and here he shall be raised. Here he 
died, and here he shall live forever. 

" So mote it be." 

One very marked characteristic of Greenhalge was his 
religious breadth. His great good-nature in responding to 
all calls upon him naturally led to his appearance before audi- 
ences almost antipodal in their foundation principles. So great 
was his catholicity that he could easily and consistently speak 
some word of encouragement and cheer to all. The three 
following speeches well illustrate this fact in his character. 
His appearance and speech at Archbishop Williams' jubilee 
excited some animosity toward him in the ranks of the A. P. A. 
He had never hesitated to voice his liking for the best qualities 
of the Irish race. He scorned the prejudices of religion or 
race, and his broad mind allowed him to appear with pleasure 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 345 

at the celebrations of every creed and people. The following 
is his speech at the Jubilee : — 

"I consider it eminently fitting that I should bring the 
congratulations of the Commonwealth to this day of golden 
jubilee of your beloved archbishop. It is true that the legal 
bonds between state and church have been long since severed, 
but it would be a sad day for the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts if at any time every church of Christ, Catholic or Protes- 
tant, Methodist or Baptist, were not a citadel of the principles 
of God's truth and of the ever-living principles at the foun- 
dation of this fabric of our government. 

" So, my friends, while it is difficult for one man either to 
tell what the creed of another man is or to understand it when 
it is declared, we at least know what a man's character is, 
what his life and what the fruit of the tree. And so, coming 
here to-night, I can say, with a full and earnest heart, the fifty 
years of godly, righteous, and sober life which you have met 
to recognize is something which comes home even to the 
narrowest bigotry, to the meanest mind. These things in a 
saintly life may be read of all men and understood by all men- 
* Integer vitse scelerisque purus.' We commemorate just such 
a character on this occasion. 

" It was Sir Thomas Browne who said, speaking at an early 
age, ' My life is a miracle of thirty years ; ' but what a larger 
miracle confronts you here to-night, a miracle of fifty years 
consecrated to the service of the Lord and to the service of 
humanity. I know something about this most reverend man. 
I come here to pay to him my tribute, official and personal, as 
a man of God and as a man of humanity, as the boy of Boston 
and as the citizen of Massachusetts. Whether at some time 
during these fifty years such a magistrate as I happen to be 
would have been invited to such a festival as this, whether 
these Protestant bishops and clergymen and citizens would 
have been sitting upon this platform, I very much doubt. 

" But, my friends, we have been growing all together. A 
spirit of liberalism has brightened every sect, every denomina- 
tion, every party, every race. Your church has not stood still 
in these fifty years. I love to hear the words recognizing the 
virtues of the great governors of the Pilgrim Fathers. More 



346 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

liberal spirits never drew breath, and they said in the olden 
days, ' We won't even write our creed, because God's light may 
break upon it and greater truth may shine from it still.' 

"And I say that the hand of man cannot write any creed for 
man upon which God's sunlight will not fall with increasing 
brio'htness day by day. And we have come together more and 
more as we have known each other better. I have found the 
o-reat and good archbishop a true citizen of the Commonwealth 
in the actual affairs of government. He has given ready aid 
to the authorities in difficult matters, and his broad spirit and 
liberality have never been found wanting. I want to say here 
that I have found him always loyal to the tone, spirit, and 
principles of civil liberty, as we understand it under the Con- 
stitution of Massachusetts and of the United States. 

" I rejoice to meet the eminent representatives of religion 
present here to-day. I like to see some of these men of whose 
works I know something. I know with what interest they 
have given of their strength, of their energy, to the cause 
of the whole American Republic. It is not the first time I 
have heard the honored name of my distinguished friend. His 
Eminence Cardinal Gibbons, and somewhere it seems to me 
that I have heard somethmg about Archbishop Ireland. As 
to Monseigneur Satolli, I am surprised to find him so gentle 
and so quiet. The only rivalry between us is that I under- 
stand he claims the title of ' His Excellency ; ' but, of course, 
before he can come into any active competition with the other 
' His Excellency,' we shall be careful to examine his naturali- 
zation papers. 

"My friends, this is truly an occasion worthy to go into the 
past and to illumine the future. I remember that the last 
time I stood in this historic hall it was on a memorable occa- 
sion too. It was on the occasion of the celebration given to 
the author of the national hymn 'America.' And as I look 
into these eager and earnest faces and contemplate these 
crowded galleries ; as I look at these decorations ; as I see the 
old flag with the same red incarnadined by the blood of citi- 
zens and patriots, without distinction of sect or race or any 
narrow difference ; as I see the white representing the stain- 
less purity of all blameless lives, and the blue of that heaven 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 347 

wliich protects and defends and invites us all, — I say, •why- 
is there not a patriotic occasion here present at this time as 
well as then, and where 's the difference ? 

"To the most reverend archbishop I give my deepest and 
best wishes for the future ; and as this day floats into the past, 
freighted with the prayers and blessings of all good and earnest 
men and women, may the fragrance that comes from it and 
may the melodious echoes that come from it sweeten and 
make musical and beautiful the future from generation to 
generation." 

The following is an address on "The Citizen and Thanks- 
giving," delivered by the Governor in the First Congregational 
Church, in Lowell, Nov. 28, 1895: — 

"My Feiends and Fellow-Citizens, — You have heard the 
subject assigned upon which a few words are expected from me. 
You remember also the subject assigned to the preceding 
speaker, upon which he has made so forcible and eloquent 
an address ; but I declare that I do not see any practical dif- 
ference between the two subjects, ' The Christian and Thanks- 
giving ' and ' The Citizen and Thanksgiving.' It seems to me, 
my friends, that the two topics are identical, or, if they are 
not, they ought to be ; that the Christian ought to be a citizen, 
and the citizen ought to be a Christian. If we view the prac- 
tical work of the Christian, we shall find him doing practical 
and substantial work as a citizen. If we find the citizen doing 
his full duty to the Commonwealth, not by loud proclamations, 
but in real active work, we shall find the citizen prominent in 
the work of the Church. So I say we ought to be thankful to 
realize the indissoluble bond, the unmistakable identity, be- 
tween the Christian and the citizen. 

" We have a right to be thankful, in the first place, my 
friends, for this beautiful day. I do not imagine that because 
one day out of three hundred and sixty-five and one-fourth 
was set apart by the Pilgrim Fathers that they meant the 
other three hundred and sixty-four and one-fourth should be 
given up to repining, to complaining, to fault-finding, and to 
criticism and censure ; and yet it must be remembered, when 
we find so many who are so eager to criticise throughout the 



348 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

year, that some people are never really happy unless they have 
an opportunity to find fault with something or other. As the 
gloomy members of the ancient colony sometimes missed God's 
smile to catch his frown, so it is that, for a great part of the 
year, the ninety-five per cent of good is lost sight of and the 
five per cent of failure and evil is unduly and disproportionately 
magnified. 

" It may be well, therefore, my friends, to come here on this 
holy day and take an account of stock, and see if the fault-finders 
are justified, and if it is not true that we who with full hearts 
return thanks to Almighty God are not justified in our action. 

" I say we are bound to return thanks, in the first place, for 
this God's day, with its sunshine and its beauty. Why, it seems 
as if Autumn, in all her robes of loveliness, were pausing to 
deliver a sweet farewell, while Winter, clad in icy mail, like a 
grim knight, still had courtesy enough to allow her to pause 
ere she passes away forever, and we get the beauty of autumn 
with scarcely a suggestion of the winter that is at hand. So I 
say, even in this outward manifestation of the beauty of the 
Lord, we are called upon for gratitude. 

"And then the Fathers believed in publicly coming together 
and rendering thanks to the Almighty Father for the mercies 
which he had given, and for the misfortunes which he had 
spared them. As Massachusetts kneels to-day in her robes of 
splendor and majesty, she does it not in the spirit of the Phari- 
sees, thanking God she is not as others are ; she kneels there 
with all the traditional grandeur about her, and with the 
jewels of Atlanta just won, and yet not in a spirit of vain- 
glory, not in a spirit of pride or boastfulness, but in the spirit 
of devout thankfulness to the God of the Fathers, who has been 
with the children as he was with them. Yes, we have a right to 
be thankful, my friends. 

" What makes the glory of a citizen ? What makes the glory 
of a commonwealth ? In the age of Pericles it was believed 
that with the glowing walls of Athens, with the splendor of 
art and of beauty and science, there was the glory of a com- 
monwealth. To-day only the ruins of this beautiful creation 
remain ; we have the statue that Phidias's mighty genius cre- 
ated ; we have a few crumbling stones of the Parthenon. And 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 349 

the greatness of Eome was to be in the invincibility of her 
legions, in the majestic strength of her structures, — the Appian 
Way, the Cloaca Maxima, and a thousand other things, of which 
to-day only the ruins remain. 

" Is it not a lesson, my friends, that not in creations of this 
sort is the permanent and abiding glory of a commonwealth 
found ? Does it not all come down to this, — that the greatest 
political economist this world has ever seen or ever will see 
was the Saviour of mankind, and that a nation or common- 
wealth can find in his teaching only the practical and ever- 
living safety which makes the bulwarks and foundations of the 
commonwealth ? 

" And it is in those applied doctrines, it is not in declaration, 
it is not in sermon or speech, it is in the life as well as with 
the lips, that these principles must ever be manifested ; and cer- 
tainly it is all the more necessary in the life of a common- 
weath. This is a Christian commonwealth, — it has been from 
the beginning ; and yet freedom, civil and religious, has been 
the very keynote, the very divine music, which has sounded 
from the beginning, when the Pilgrim Fathers landed upon the 
desolate seashore, down to this Thanksgiving Day of 1895. 
And we have a right to thank God to-day, because, other things 
being equal, the citizen of Massachusetts has more opportunity 
to follow out his way of everlasting life, to get more out of life, 
which is a suggestion of immortality, we believe, than the citi- 
zens of any other commonwealth in the world. Our institu- 
tions are based upon that principle, — the right of education, 
God given. 

" And I take especial pride in assuring those who are doubt- 
ful or faint-hearted that the system of public education in 
Massachusetts is the foundation-stone which has just received 
its reward. It has received the mark of approbation from the 
great Exposition of the Southern States ; and you can imagine 
the feeling of pride with which the chief magistrate accepts 
these grand attestations of the progress, the real work, which 
the great Commonwealth is doing, and which is watched so 
eagerly, not only by our sister States here, but by communities 
all over the world, even from far-off and stricken Armenia. 

" I say, while we thank God for our privileges, while we 



350 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

thank God for the blessings which he has given us, let us re- 
member that we, above almost every other State and com- 
munity, hold as a sacred trust these institutions which are 
of the very life, are of the very soul, of the Commonwealth ; 
and no light word, no expression of doubt even, is to be 
tolerated. 

"I believe these institutions will remain as long as this 
fabric of the universe remains, and doubt is cowardice. I 
have full confidence that neither the gates of hell nor any 
other force in the world or beneath it can prevail against these 
powers of the soul which make Massachusetts the greatest com- 
munity on this hemisphere or upon any other. But it entails 
upon us all the more work ; it, as I say, imposes upon us a 
trust in which humanity is the beneficiary, and so let us thank 
God even for the work he has imposed upon us. 

" The earthly commonwealth can be measured in its glory 
only as it resembles the kingdom of heaven, and it is in the 
near approach to the likeness of that kingdom that common- 
wealths lose or find their final destiny. 

" So, my friends, these maxims of the Bible, these teachings 
of the Saviour, are, I believe, the best guides to political wis- 
dom. When we talk of the problems of labor and capital, 
when we talk of monopoly here, of everlasting powers there, 
the one solution is when, in the spirit of the Lord, the employ- 
ers shall meet the employed, and the employed shall respond 
to the employer. May not I do what I will with my own 
property ? Not necessarily. Have we not all learned that 
whatever gift, whatever wealth, whatever property, is put into 
our hands or into our minds, we are still only stewards for our 
fellow-men, for our brothers and sisters ? and I say that the 
solution of all the problems which are confronting us to-day, — 
the establishment of godliness, the establishment of simple 
honesty, the establishment of temperance, of righteous living 
of every sort, — comes from the doctrines which we find in Holy 
Writ ; and it is the practical man who is the citizen who has 
more opportunity than the ordinary Christian. 

"And yet I find the Christian women at work in all practical 
lines. It is a glorious development of womanhood. They be- 
come acquainted with public questions ; they do not degrade 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 351 

and slander public men ; they understand more and more the 
difficulties of the case. 

" It is so easy to sit at one side and comment upon the com- 
batants engaged in hot strife ! Why was not this blow struck 
there ? Why was this not done so and so ? Yet it must be 
remembered that the public man is bound in his duty of citi- 
zenship by his highest duty as a Christian; he is bound to 
remember that the whole people of the Commonwealth are, as 
it were, the objects of his care, and by the manner in which 
he treats all alike, with equal justice and with equal charity, 
his work as an official will finally be judged by right-thinking 
people. 

" So I say, my friends, it is the duty of every Christian to be 
a citizen, and to be actively at work as a citizen. He cannot 
sit quiet and count his dividends or estimate his profits while 
a city is going down to the shame and guilt of Sodom and 
Gomorrah. In New York, at the last election, there were 
281,000 registered voters ; of that number 40,000 proved them- 
selves recreants and traitors by not lifting a hand or uttering a 
word in defence of good government. I think, my friends, the 
condition of our own city is one that calls for earnest work on 
the part of the citizen, on the part of the Christian, — or, I will 
say, on the part of the Christian citizen, which is one and the 
same thing. 

" We must no longer commit to our most inferior people the 
business of managing our dearest interests. It is the man of 
brains, of power, of business experience, and of business sa- 
gacity, who must come to the front. If you do not do it, it is 
because you are not either Christians or citizens. So, my 
friends, take the work in hand. 

" I think we have a right to thank God to-day, because, how- 
ever active, however mighty, the forces of evil are in any com- 
munity, the forces of right are there ; and when the Word of 
God reaches those forces of right and puts them in battle array, 
the cause of good government will be maintained here, in New 
York, all over our country. In that hope we all live, and in 
that sign of the Master we shall conquer, and we shall have 
again another great reason for uttering our thanksgiving to the 
Almighty Father." 



352 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

The third speech in this trinity was delivered before the 
Salvation Army : — 

" Ladies and Gentlemen, — I come here to act as chairman 
of this meeting for a very brief period. I consider it a duty, 
as the representative of a Christian Commonwealth, to extend 
a most hearty welcome to any benign and Christian influences 
that come to that Commonwealth. And so I think I may 
simply emphasize the welcome already given by Boston and 
by the Commonwealth to General Booth here to-night. 

" I remember when the Army which he represents was con- 
sidered of little value ; when it did not seem to command the 
support and approbation of the careful, thinking people of 
intelligent communities. Yet in the last few years we have 
seen this work grow, expand, bloom, and flourish until the 
Salvation Army has become one of the recognized institutions 
of Christianity. 

" That is a mighty gain, a great step forward. We cannot 
have, in these days of trouble and anxiety and unrest, too 
much religion. All religion, if it is true, is true religion. 
The people need, in one way and in another and every- 
where, this spirit of religion. I remember the words of the 
prophet foreshadowing the evil days, and saying that * the Lord 
God will send a famine in the land,' — not a famine of bread, 
nor of thirst for water, but of the Word of the Lord, — ' and 
they shall wander from sea to sea ; they shall go to and fro, 
and shall not find it. In that day the fair maidens and the 
young men shall faint for thirst ! ' God grant that that day 
may be far off! It is in just such living agencies — instru- 
ments of the Lord — as these which we see to-night, that that 
want will be satisfied, and that evil day be put off or indefi- 
nitely postponed, if I may use a legislative term. 

" My friends, it is in upliftings of this sort that the whole 
people are benefited ; and when we find men and women pro- 
fessing a religion which has for its cathedral the alley and the 
lane, the haunts of vice and the home of misery, then we 
know that religion is at least attempting a task which Christ 
himself would approve. 

" It is in this work for the poor and needy that this Army 
of Salvation commends itself to the judgment of reasonable 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 353 

and thinking individuals. It makes for peace ! It makes for 
comfort ! It is benevolent and not malevolent ! Consequently, 
I may say, on the part of this great Commonwealth, that I 
welcome a great power, a great spirit here in Boston, here 
in Massachusetts, — the spirit of Christianity, which is not 
limited by oceans, by continents, by sections, but which com- 
prehends the whole habitable globe. 

"A great work has already been done, and I can only say to 
the General, coming here, in a manner, in his hour of triumph : 
* Deal rightly with this people of Massachusetts ! ' If by your 
coming, sir, through any alley or street or section of Boston 
or of the Commonwealth, you can give one breath of life and 
comfort that will make the humblest, the meanest, the most 
miserable feel that he too is the child of God, entitled to fair 
and equal terms, even at the tribunal of Heaven, the blessings 
of the people of Massachusetts will go with you. We shall 
hold you to strict account, — we shall ask, when you have 
passed from these triumphant scenes, 'Has the coming of 
General Booth really given encouragement and cheer and the 
spirit of betterment to our own people ? ' 

" I know what the answer will be ! Already there has 
been a manifestation of this singular power ; and just as I 
would hold to account my Adjutant-General, the Chairman 
of the Board of Police, the Chief Justice, or any other great 
official or magistrate, so spiritually I have to hold to account 
these mighty magistrates of the Lord. 

" In this spirit, my friends, and in the full confidence that 
doubts will be resolved and that the account will be written 
as shining pages on the books of Heaven, I introduce that 
Great Bishop of the Established Church of the Poor, — General 
William Booth ! " 

Perhaps the most enjoyable to Governor Greenhalge of the 
occasions when he was called upon to address the people in 
an official capacity were the agricultural fairs so commonly 
held throughout the State during the season of autumn. He 
loved the homely manners of the agricultural class, and de- 
lighted in meeting the country folk, the sterling nature of 
whose character he appreciated. During the season when these 

23 



354 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

meetings usually occur the country-side is perhaps seen at its 
best. The rich tints of the autumn foliage, the coolness and 
clearness of the atmosphere, render nature most beautiful and 
delightful, and seem to gratify all the senses. Governor Green- 
halge did not pretend to know much about practical farming, 
but he knew how to interest the farmers, perhaps because he 
was interested in them ; and some of his agricultural addresses 
are among his best. I select one that he delivered at the Ply- 
mouth County Fair, Bridgewater, Sept. 6, 1895, as a fair ex- 
ample of his speeches on many such occasions : — 

" When I last attended your dinner, which I do not think 
keeps up to the old-time fashion of a frugal repast, but goes 
considerably beyond that, I remember that it was the time of a 
storm, when the rain fell upon the just and the unjust alike, 
and interfered materially with the attendance at the fair and 
with your general success and prosperity. I congratulate you, 
Mr. President and friends, that to-day we have the sunshine 
with us, plenty of it, perhaps at times a little too much ; but, 
with the utilitarian spirit which marks the intelligent citizen, 
you will coin that sunshine into dollars and put them into the 
treasury of this ancient agricultural society. So I am glad to 
be here to rejoice with you in your day of success as I was 
pleased to be here to attempt to take my share of any adversity 
that might have come to you last year. 

" I suppose there is nothing which excites so much the risi- 
bilities of the critic, the wit of the humorist, as the attendance 
of the governor at what are called cattle shows. If a man 
invites me to a gathering of this sort, he asks me to an agri- 
cultural fair ; but if he finds I am going to some other fellow's 
attraction, he speaks of it as a cattle show. The point of view 
is quite important in determining the epithet or appellation 
which shall be given to an occasion of this sort. And some of 
the kindly critics always find a good deal of amusement in the 
extent of agricultural knowledge possessed by an ofi&cial who 
is invited to occasions like this. 

" Why, my friends, is there no serious, no earnest purpose, 
no true significance, in visitations of the executive to gatherings 
of the people ? Is it not right that the executive should find 
out what manner of people he has to deal with ? Is it not 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 355 

right that the people should know the manner of man they 
have to deal with in official station ? Is it not right that the 
chief magistrate should sit at meat with his people, should 
meet them as man to man, should understand something of 
them beside the relations which exist between him and them 
from the platform, in the chair of office, and in their voting 
precincts ? After all, my friends, we are men and women, and 
it is the character of the men and women which makes the 
character of Massachusetts, which makes the character of the 
whole country. 

" I might say, if we came here simply as critics, it would be 
an easy role to perform. The critic does not need to know 
anything of the subject he criticises. We see ample evidence 
of that in every magazine and every newspaper. But I come, 
aside from my official capacity, in a character which I think 
entitles a man, in a sort of impersonal way, to respect and con- 
sideration, because I come here as a consumer, and the consumer 
is of the utmost importance to the producer. The consumer is 
the keenest and most intelligent critic of the producer. He 
knows something of the product of the farm, can tell good 
butter and knows if the milk is half water. We all know so 
much about the products of the farm that a man of average 
intelligence may be able to learn something from a gathering 
like this. 

" I learned something at the great fair at Worcester, which I 
visited Wednesday, and which had the finest exhibit of live- 
stock that has been seen for many years. I learned that they 
are now introducing two new breeds of cattle, and I am glad 
to say this in the presence of Mr, Seth Bryant, who sits here, 
at the age of ninety-five years, and who, I trust, in the provi- 
dence of the Almighty, may live out the full term of one hundred. 

" I know that we have reached an epoch in the history 
of the introduction of cattle. Mr. Bryant, as I am informed, 
first brought into this Commonwealth the Jersey ; and now it is 
proposed to give strength and calibre to that breed by crossing 
it with the Simmenthaler and the Normandy, the two new 
breeds which were shown here for the first time at the fair at 
Worcester. This is of interest to every man, woman, and child 
in the Commonwealth, because we all want good, pure milk and 



356 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

honest butter. We all want the best that can be produced, 
particularly if it is true, as Sir Thomas Browne has said, that 
man is simply what he has eaten. 

" Now, my friends, here in Plymouth County there is some 
special interest attaching to a society of this sort. The man 
who touches the soil of Plymouth County ought to find in it a 
liberal education, a patriotic inspiration. The Almighty said 
in that beginning of things on this side of the Atlantic : ' I do 
not give you broad prairies and wide fields of wheat, but here 
on this rock of Plymouth I will plant the noblest, the first free 
commonwealth the world has ever seen, and from that rock 
shall living waters flow, which shall enrich the soil of every 
State and territory, and shall gladden the eyes and hearts of 
all the peoples upon the earth.' That is the story of Ply- 
mouth. 

" I want to see this society keep its membership full. I am 
glad to see about me these men advanced in years. It is cer- 
tain that there have been good living and spiritual righteousness 
here to give that strength and life and vigor to old age which 
make it as beautiful as if crowned again with youth. I thank 
you again for the opportunity of being here." 

The illiberal movement in American politics known as the 
A. P. A. — the American Protective Association, as the sound- 
ing and pretentious title runs when taken from the obscurity of 
capital letters — rose into prominence during the first adminis- 
tration of Governor Greenhalge. Prom the first, it roused his 
indignation. To his broad liberal ideas and to his " loving 
catholic heart," such an organization was most antagonistic; 
its secret methods were opposed to his singularly open nature, 
and in his second campaign he desired to assert frankly his 
opinions in regard to it. But the organization was a secret one ; 
its members, as far as possilile, concealing their membership, it 
was difficult to estimate its strength ; it made great claims, and 
indeed in several cities and towns had succeeded in carrying 
the Eepublican caucuses. This was a critical year. Before 
another election the organization would decrease in strength. 
So thought the party managers, and counselled silence ; and the 
Governor yielded his judgment to theirs. When, however, the 



■SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 357 

time approached for the holding of the State convention of 1895, 
the organization, mstead of decreasing in influence, appeared to 
have increased. Many of the Governor's acts had called forth 
adverse criticism from the members of the order, — he had 
appointed Catholics to office ; he had attended Commencement 
at Holy Cross College; worse than all, he had attended the 
jubilee banquet to Archbishop Williams and shaken hands 
with Satolli ! The organization ranged itself in opposition ; its 
strength, however, was not so great as had been feared. But 
the votes given to Morse in the convention which nominated 
Greenhalge for the governorship for the third time, were like 
blows to him. He felt that he had deserved the full support 
of his party. 

The State Eepublican Convention of 1895 was held in Music 
Hall upon the 5th of October. Curtis Guild, Jr., was the 
permanent chairman of the convention ; Hon. Frederick H. 
Gillette was chairman of the Committee on Eesolutions. Ex- 
Governor Long proposed the name of Governor Greenhalge for 
renomination in these eloquent words : — 

" Sometimes our constituency — the great Eepublican party 
of Massachusetts — sends us here to make selection for it of a 
candidate for Governor. At other times it sends us here to 
announce the selection which it has itself already made. 

" That is the case to-day. In tones clear as a bell the Eepub- 
lican party — let me say the Commonwealth herself — has long 
since proclaimed the name of her chief magistrate for the next 
ensuing year. If for a moment any have questioned that 
choice, the result has been only to make more certain to them 
and to everybody else that it is as foregone and inevitable as 
to-morrow's sunrise. Fortunate indeed the candidate the dis- 
cussion of whom confirms the assurance of those who enthusi- 
astically rush to his support, and dissipates the doubts of those 
who come to it at first with some hesitation, but anon with 
equal constancy. 

" Gentlemen, Massachusetts has come to have faith in the 
ability, the integrity, and the courage of her present Governor. 
Not by any winning personality, not by the grace and rare elo- 
quence of speech which are his, not by the aptness with which 
on many occasions he has represented her within and beyond 



358 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

her borders, but by his unflinching discharge of his duty as he 
has seen it, and by his fidelity to his own convictions, he has 
won her approval, and she now bids us say to him, ' Well done, 
good and faithful servant ! ' 

"On his record he stands, and on that as on a rock. He has 
shirked no responsibility ; he has feared to face no exigency 
and no man ; he has recognized no limitation upon the equal 
rights of the American citizen, be he of whatever color, race, 
birth, or religion. So thoroughly has he thus secured the con- 
fidence of the great body of the people, — even of those who 
differ from him in this or that measure or in this or that 
appointment, — that of his own political party those who at 
first most questioned his fitness are now among his stanchest 
supporters ; while of the other great political party nothing 
but the frail and tumbling fences of partisan organization pre- 
vent, even if they do altogether prevent, its members from a 
wholesale lurch and flocking to his standard. 

" In the name, therefore, of the grand old party whose dele- 
gates we are ; in the name of the grand old Commonwealth 
whose commanding voice we utter to-day ; in the name of what 
is large and liberal and sound in American political principles ; 
and in recognition of honest desert and faithful service, I 
move the nomination for Governor for the next ensuing year of 
Frederic T. Greenhalge." 

After Governor Long had finished his speech, a ballot was 
called for. The result was 1,363 votes for Governor Green- 
halge, 391 for the Hon. Elijah A. Morse, and 8 scattering. 

In accepting the nomination, the Governor said : — 

" Gentlemen of the Convention, — I thank you most 
heartily for the honor you have just conferred on me ; it 
calls for my most profound gratitude and my most earnest 
acknowledgment. Your nomination, coming to me at this 
time and under existing circumstances, is, indeed, an honor 
of triple magnitude and full of uncommon significance. 

" I think it may be said that your action is not limited by 
the lines of mere routine. Perhaps it is not too much to say 
that it represents the deliberate judgment of the Eepublican 
party upon an administration of two years. During that ad- 



. SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 359 

ministration many vital and momentous questions have arisen. 
In the onward movement of a great commonwealth like Massa- 
chusetts there is a necessary friction and disturbance occa- 
sioned by the velocity of progress. Upon these questions, 
involving the interests of property, the fortunes of parties, the 
triumph or defeat of systems, and the sacred rights of men, it 
is not to be wondered at that honest and marked differences 
of opinion have arisen, and a great deal of interest and zeal 
aroused. While I am uncharitable to no man who differs from 
me, while I ascribe to sincere opposition no unworthy motive, 
while I acknowledge my own many errors and shortcomings 
I must say, as I look back upon the past and note the many 
instances where perplexities arose, where prompt and decided 
action was required, that I must still hold fast to the principles 
by which I have endeavored to guide and regulate my course, 
and, in humble imitation of the great reformer, say, ' So help 
me God, I cannot do otherwise ! ' 

" I have always believed, I still believe, that to be a good 
Eepublican it is necessary for a man to be a good citizen, 
true and loyal to his country, with a supreme and single devo- 
tion. The principles of the Eepublican party mean progress 
and development, the lifting up of the individual and of the 
State. Those principles favor sober, righteous, and intelligent 
living ; they are at once the lamps of the State, the nation, and 
the home. Education, free as air and lofty as heaven ; tem- 
perance in thought, word, and life ; justice, blind to artificial 
distinctions of wealth or station, eagle-eyed to the distinction 
of right and WTong ; loyalty to State and nation, rising to a 
love that 'passeth understanding,' — these, and every principle 
that makes for good government, are written in the hearts of all 
Republicans. 

"Again, the Eepublican party believes in the indivisibility of 
the country; it desires to stimulate and develop that glowing 
spirit of American nationality which is already stirring in 
every heart from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We think that 
the ship of state will meet the stormy seas quite as success- 
fully as one beautiful integral fabric as in sections or compart- 
ments loosely jointed together. The unification of States is a 
noble object, worthy the highest ambitions and the grandest 



360 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

efforts of statesmanship ; the unificatiou of a people making 
all Massachusetts one family bound together by ties of affection 
and esteem, inspired by the Almighty with the loftiest ideals of 
citizenship, is, I am sure, a step in the direction of that 

' far-off, divine event 
To which the whole creation moves.' 

" Gentlemen, I do not think that our party has lost anything 
of power or prestige in the last few years. In State and nation, 
here at home and in the country at large, that power and 
prestige have grown and strengthened ; it is therefore fair to 
assume that the administration of affairs here in Massachu- 
setts, to a limited degree, in New York, and elsewhere in the 
country, has met with the approval of the people ; and it is 
the people in whose service we are enlisted, whose good is our 
highest aim, and whose commands we, as a party and as indi- 
viduals, must obey. 

" Gentlemen, let us move forward to the coming contest with 
all courage and confidence, and, above all, with a profound sense 
of the immense responsibility which Massachusetts is once 
more about to impose upon the Eepublican party. Gentlemen, 
again I tender you my profound gratitude for what I must 
consider the crowning honor of my public life." 

"When the Governor appeared" (I quote from the " Spring- 
field Eepublican "), " the feeling was even too intense for de- 
monstrative applause. The platform and speeches had been 
with the anti-Greenhalge men ; but here was the living person- 
ality at whom their attacks had been directed, and he had 
been vindicated. The stern set face of the Governor, and the 
rigor of the muscles that grew tense as he marched towards the 
desk on the platform, seemed more inflexible than ever. It 
was not an attitude of triumph, but rather the soberness of 
one who had won a serious victory. The Governor's voice, 
always harsh as he begins an address, was softened, and seemed 
unusually clear and strong. When he reached the climax, and 
repeated Luther's immortal words, ' So help me God, I cannot 
do otherwise,' the most unsympathetic were thrilled." 

Governor Greenhalge had not been desirous of a third term, — 



.SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 361 

as he said to his friends, " I have had two terms, and am satis- 
fied ;" but the leaders of the Eepublican party believed that if 
he refused to be a candidate there might be trouble, because of 
the sharp contest apprehended for the governorship through 
the new element in the Eepublican party. Having consented 
to assume again the leadership of the party, he entered upon 
his third campaign with very different feelings from those that 
had influenced him in the two former campaigns. For two 
years he had filled the executive chair; he had made his 
record, it was before the people for them to consider and pass 
judgment upon; he felt that the more dignified position for 
him was to await that judgment quietly. He was weary, and 
longed for rest ; let others speak. But again the party man- 
agers thought otherwise. The Governor's re-election was as- 
sured, but for the good of the party a large vote was needed, 
and he must help to call it forth. As ever, when it was only 
his own interest that was in question, he yielded, and gave his 
strength to his party. In this campaign, however, he felt that 
he could follow his own judgment, and speak out the truth he 
held in his heart. While on his way to Holyoke, October 12, 
where they were to speak that evening, he said to the Lieuten- 
ant-Governor, who was with him : " Roger, I do not know 
what you mean to do, but I shall speak frankly to-night 
against this narrow bigotry." " I will do the same," was the 
reply ; and most eloquently and unequivocally did they speak. 
In the Governor's speech he said : " I say, for the first and 
last time, if any organization means to extend and strengthen 
the beautiful and beneficent system of public education in 
Massachusetts, if they mean an intelligent and loyal spirit to 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I say to every true and 
loyal citizen of the Commonwealth, ' God speed.' But if they 
mean proscription, ostracism, hostility to any man who is a 
true and loyal citizen, and the stirring up of race prejudice, 
I would rather be defeated than elected by a hundred thou- 
sand votes, if one of those votes was meant to favor ostracism 
and proscription." 

After an arduous campaign during which Governor Green- 
halge spoke with his accustomed vigor in many places, he was 



362 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

elected for the third time Governor of Massachusetts on 
November 5. Had the truth been known which was con- 
cealed even from himself, there would have been something 
very pathetic in Governor Greenhalge's third campaign. It 
presents to the mind the idea of a person overtaken, in the 
midst of overwhelming labors and duties which cannot be 
laid aside, by ill health, and consequently unable to accom- 
plish an inexorable task without immense self-sacrifice and 
personal loss. It is true that Governor Greenhalge did not 
appreciate the fact that he was seriously ill; at the same 
time he must have felt a real indisposition, and that the work 
he had to do grew ever harder. There was, however, no appear- 
ance of lack of vigor in his speeches and addresses ; he would 
not suffer the fire of his oratory to diminish, nor allow the 
least duty to be sacrificed. He had not desired a third nomi- 
nation, but the election gave him pleasure. He carried the 
State with an increased majority over that of the previous 
year. There was greater enthusiasm in his cause than ever, 
and the success of the Republican party was very dear to his 
heart. The vote for Governor stood: Greenhalge, 173,250; 
Williams, 112,938, Greenhalge's plurality, 62,371 ; Mr. George 
Fred Williams, of Boston, being the Democratic candidate. 

After the election Governor Greenhalge expressed his satis- 
faction at the results. He said : " Of course, there are two 
reasons why it was desirable to have a large majority, and very 
gratifying to me. The first, and the most important, is that it 
is a commendation of my management of the affairs of the 
Commonwealth during the time I have been in office. The 
second is for the sake of the influence which a large majority 
may have on the national election. For both these reasons 
this election gives me great satisfaction." 

The dedication of a national military park, Sept. 19, 1895, on 
the battlefields of Chattanooga and Chickamauga called Gov- 
ernor Greenhalge in his official capacity to the South, with the 
governors of other Northern States. The event was national, 
and attracted the attention of the country. Governor Greenhalge 
was accompanied by members of his staff and the official delega- 
tion from Massachusetts. The ceremonies comprised the dedi- 
cation of a Massachusetts monument to her honored heroes. 



<■ SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 363 

The Governor's party reached Chattanooga early on the 
19th, and at four in the afternoon formally dedicated the 
monument, which was surmounted by a bank of flowers bearing 
in immortelles the inscription, " Massachusetts Tribute to 
Valor." At the base of the monument were a crescent of white 
roses to the Second Regiment, Eleventh Corps, and a star of 
red roses to the Thirty-third Eegiment, Twelfth Corps. 

Governor Greenhalge began his dedicatory speech at once, 
and closed with enthusiastic applause. It was a masterly 
effort, and attracted wide attention. 

"Fellow-Citizens, Bkethren of the North and South 
East and West, — The history of the evolution of constitu- 
tional government has almost always been written in the 
blood of freemen. From the days of Simon De Montfort, slain 
at Evesham, down to the days of Hampden and Chalgrove, the 
fields of iSTaseby and Marston Moor, and thence on to 1688 (a 
period of constitutional development both in Old England and 
New England), and later to the days of Bunker Hill and Appo- 
mattox, great principles have been established by the arbitra- 
ment of war. And with the best advantages for determining 
questions of law with honest and independent judicatures, 
servile to no king or party, with the most intelligent legislative 
thought in the world, the Constitution of the United States, 
the scope and meaning of governmental principles were settled, 
not in senates or courts, but on the mountain heights around 
Chattanooga, and the decrees of that august and terrible tri- 
bunal were written in the best blood of the country and pro- 
claimed by the thunder of artillery. 

"We are to contemplate to-day a great crisis in a great 
struggle, and to dedicate to eternal peace and rest under the 
starry flag this place, where the battle raged so fierce, and 
where the victor 'sank to rest by all his country's wishes 
blest,' and the vanquished, in his children, shares in the prizes 
of victory. 

" The rapid advance of Rosecrans, the skilful strategy which 
compelled Bragg to evacuate Chattanooga, the forward move- 
ment of the Union forces later, the repulse at Chickamauga, 
the holding of Chattanooga until reinforcements arrived to com- 
plete the rout of General Bragg and to relieve Burnside at Knox- 



364 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

ville, — all these facts are well known. The story of this crisis 
and of the great battle of the West, of the services of the Thirty- 
third and Second Massachusetts, has been told many times. 
In such a crisis of the nation be sure that Massachusetts 
was represented. When did Massachusetts ever fail in the 
hour of peril ? The two gallant regiments she contributed at 
this time — the Second and the Thirty-third — were the flower 
of the Union forces. It would be difficult, if not invidious, to 
rehearse to you the achievements of these two regiments upon 
these and so many other fields, embracing East and West, 
North and South, previous to Chattanooga and after, on to 
Atlanta and Savannah. . . . 

"This is a story of heroes told by heroes. Thomas and 
Hooker and other great captains have told it in the simplicity 
and grandeur of official orders. But the men of the Second and 
Thirty-third understood well the principles they were fighting 
for ; so, too, did their great leaders. They came hither bearing 
colors blistered and torn, indeed, in the fierce breath of many 
a battle, and yet in every ragged fold emblazoned with victory. 
The stern eye of Joseph Hooker gleamed with pride and joy, 
when, as a soldier and as a son of Massachusetts, he watched 
these Pilgrims of the Old Colony, these Ironsides of the old 
Commonwealth, march by. If crisis of peril to the country 
were near, Massachusetts, with her best blood and her best 
brain, was at hand to hold up the arms of the republic. 
Webster, the mightiest statesman of the North and of the 
South, had pleaded for ' Liberty and union, now and forever, 
one and inseparable ; ' and probably every man in these two 
Massachusetts regiments knew the great words of the con- 
stitutional expounder by heart, and as they marched up 
the rugged sides of Lookout, these words rang in their ears 
above the roar of battle. Sherman, hurling his flaming lines 
upon the foe, knew they were going to bring back liberty and 
union on their bayonets. Thomas, the rock of Chickamauga, 
immovable and steadfast, while the billows of Confederate 
valor hissed and seethed around him, saw the vision of liberty 
and union. Hooker, the boy of Massachusetts, the plumed 
Bayard of our armies, planting the victorious flag of his coun- 
try above the clouds of Lookout, knew that liberty and union 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 365 

were safe ; and it is well to remember that the ' Cracker line ' of 
Hooker furnished the very bread of life to the republic in its 
hour of direst need and suffering. 

" Burnside, beleaguered in Knoxville, heard the hurrying feet 
of the Thirty-third Massachusetts among the foremost rushing 
to the rescue, and, cheered by their far-off cheers, hurled off, by 
a supreme effort, his desperate and heroic foe ; and Grant, the 
master mind of all, controlling and inspiring all, the incompa- 
rable and invincible captain, amid the shouts of victory, was 
calmly projecting new battles and new triumph for the cause 
of liberty and union. 

" Cogswell, with his famous regiment, holding with bull-dog 
grip the line of railroad from Tallahoma, probably repeated to 
himself the magic words of Webster, which he heard so often 
declaimed in the public schools of old Essex ; and the watch- 
words of Underwood, charging into the very lines of the 
enemy, were 'Liberty and union.' . . . 

" The victors of Chickamauga were fighting for their homes 
and firesides. So, too, were these children of Massachusetts. 
In the broad spirit of our principles, there is not a foot nor an 
inch of foreign soil, from Puget's Sound to Tampa Bay, from 
Boston to Galveston. State lines, sectional divisions, in that 
glowing spirit of nationality which makes every citizen a brother 
and every sovereign state an integral and indissoluble part of our 
country, were obliterated by the flashing wisdom of statesmen 
like Webster, and by the hearts' blood of freemen like those 
who sleep beneath this sod. The men of Massachusetts fought 
for the homes of Massachusetts, and they fought, too, for the 
homes of Tennessee, of California and the Carolinas. It is true 
that those who loved them might have yearned to have their 
precious ashes laid in some shaded New England sepulchre, 
where their eternal sleep might be lulled by the patter of their 
childrens' feet and the turf above them brightened by spring 
flowers, bedewed with the tears of their comrades. But we com- 
mit them to the care of Tennessee, knowing they are at home. . . . 

"There is not opportunity to describe the vicissitudes of the 
grand series of conflicts which raged along these mountain 
heiglits. The armies on each side were marked by dauntless 
valor, the commanders were renowned captains ; the brave and 



366 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

sagacious Braxton Bragg and the indomitable and unconquer- 
able Longstreet were foremost among the Confederate leaders, 
while the names of Sherman and Sheridan, Thomas, Howard, 
Eosecrans, and Hooker, were watchwords in the Union army, 
and their mighty forces were inspired and directed by the 
inflexible and irresistible genius of Grant. 

"Listen to Chickamauga speak to Chattanooga, — deep unto 
(Jeep, — and the dead of Chickamauga stand in line with the 
dead of Chattanooga. You may hear a voice from heaven 
saying above these Confederate graves, ' You fought for no lost 
cause, your cause was won at Chattanooga. Though van- 
quished, you were victorious, sharing in the fruits of victory. 
Liberty and union are henceforth the heritage of your chil- 
dren. The flag is yours, and the bright particular star of your 
State must only increase your love and devotion to the glory 
of the whole constellation, Peace and love, union and pros- 
perity, be with your country forevermore.' 

" So speaks this voice over the graves of Chickamauga and 
Chattanooga to-day. And Massachusetts, as she bends over 
her sons sleeping their last sleep here, under the skies of 
Tennessee, her grief chastened by just pride in their deep 
loyalty and precious sacrifices, claims from her sister State, 
and from every sister State and from every citizen of the 
republic, the tender yet mighty sympathy which America 
yields to men who pour forth their life blood to save and to 
strengthen our common country. 

" Forever shall be remembered, as illustrated on the field of 
Chickamauga with unwonted splendor, and on many a battle- 
field, the desperate valor, the chivalric spirit, the fervid devo- 
tion, which leads brave men to fight and to die for a cause and 
a principle in which they believe to the last. That valor, that 
spirit, that devotion, shall gleam and flash in the pages of 
history, over shattered armies, over bloody defeats, over car- 
nage and ruin, over causes lost and shrivelled up in the flame 
of battle, and principle trampled in blood and mire. The glory 
of the Union soldier depends for its very life and quality upon 
the glory which crowns his heroic opponent. Under the ban- 
ners of North and South we have ' one equal temper of heroic 
hearts.' . . . 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 367 

" Well, we have talked over the old days, of the ' old, un- 
happy, far-off things, and battles long ago,' but we have come 
together now. We are brethren. The snows and flowers of 
more than thirty years have come and gone. A new day has 
dawned. Commerce, trade, manufacture are coming, and they 
care nothing for sectional lines. Chattanooga has got a firm 
grip on civilization. The steady, indomitable energy of Massa- 
chusetts and Maine are blended with the dash and elan of 
Tennessee and Georgia. 

" Northern capital shakes hands with Southern and Western 
resources, and, with water power, coal fields, iron mines, stone 
quarries, giving employment and wages alike to every portion 
of the country, we realize the utilitarian and practical value of 
the sentiment, ' E Pluribus Unum.' These grand old mottoes 
take on new meanings in the light of this new day. Union 
and Confederate stand together to-day. The blaze of artillery 
lights the mountain peaks no more. The tender sunlight 
wraps them in soft radiance. The great flag of the republic, 
streaming over the blue and the gray, over the living and the 
dead, over the North and South, East and West, proclaims to 
us and to the world that we are one people, animated by one 
purpose, as splendid as ever glowed in the soul of man, with 
one destiny, so grand and high that it fills the future with 
a glory such as the sons of men never looked on before, and 
standing here, under that banner all together, close together, 
we hear the mighty music of the Union. Eising from every 
lip and every heart, comes the great anthem of the free, 'My 
country, 'tis of thee,' swelling into a diapason sweeter in the 
ears of the Almighty and of all mankind than any ever heard 
since ' the morning stars sang together and the sons of God 
shouted for joy.' 

"The patriotic dead who died for Massachusetts and for the 
whole country we shall all hold in everlasting remembrance and 
gratitude for the mighty work they did to secure to us all 
liberty and union in a country which shall remain one and 
inseparable, now and forever. This nation holds the right of 
the line. 

" It leads ; it is the vanguard of humanity. In general intel- 
lect, development, in social culture, in political improvement. 



368 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

in swiftness of ship or locomotive, in all-roundness of capacity, 
in adaptability to new conditions, in quick concentration of 
powers to meet emergencies, the American is ' in the foremost 
files of time.' " 

During the fall and winter of 1895 the Cotton States and 
International Exposition was held in Atlanta, Georgia. In the 
Massachusetts exhibit at the Exposition, Governor Greenhalge 
had taken great interest, and had done much to insure its 
success. The loth of November was made Massachusetts Day, 
and the Colonial Committee of Massachusetts was invited to 
select the orator of the occasion. This committee was com- 
posed of ladies appointed in part by the Colonial Committee of 
Atlanta and in part by the Governor of Massachusetts. It 
was their duty to collect and care for the Colonial and Revolu- 
tionary relics, an exhibit of which each of the thirteen original 
States had been solicited to contribute to the Exposition. It 
was intimated to this committee that should their choice 
fall upon ex-Governor Eussell, who was a great favorite in 
Atlanta, it would be pleasing to the people of that city. The 
ladies of the Massachusetts committee, however, feeling that 
the presence of the Governor of the State would give dignity 
and brilliancy to the day, and that the honor of the Common- 
wealth could with safety be intrusted to him, invited Gov- 
ernor Greenhalge to deliver the oration. Though shrinking from 
the extra labor and the fatigue of the long journey, coming, 
as it must, just after the exhausting work of the campaign, 
the Governor accepted the duty, and in his fulfilment of it 
brought new honor to his beloved Commonwealth. During 
the stress of the campaign, however, the Governor had found 
no time to prepare his address, and it was written in the train 
as it sped on its way to Atlanta. For the Massachusetts 
exhibit the State had erected a beautiful building, — a repro- 
duction of the old Craigie or Longfellow house in Cambridge. 
From the steps of this building the Governor on Massachusetts 
Day delivered his oration. 

" Your cordial greeting, my friends, is a most inspiring pre- 
lude of the performance of a delightful duty. 

" I come here charged with a message as lofty and loving, 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 369 

as full of affection and respect, as the ancient Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts can send or the imperial State of Georgia 
can receive. And if the voice of Massachusetts fails, if we, 
the representatives of Massachusetts, fail adequately and suffi- 
ciently to express to you all the love and good-fellowship, 
all the sisterly affection, she bears to her sister State of 
Georgia, we know that our deficiencies, our weak utterances, 
will be hidden, lost, or made good in the great, undying, 
ever-increasing song of the angelic choir proclaiming 'Peace 
on earth, good-will to men,' first heard on the plains of 
Bethlehem when Christ the Lord was born, and which has 
filled the world with divine music ever since. 

" I bring this message of Massachusetts to Georgia, and it 
is delivered in a most appropriate place. This mansion of 
Massachusetts speaks for Massachusetts more clearly than 
any lips, than any mortal voice. This structure is the coun- 
terfeit presentment, the verisimilitude, the true image of per- 
haps the noblest mansion of Massachusetts, which, though 
silent, proclaims her history, her life, her thought, her purpose. 

" This house stands in Cambridge by the placid Charles. We 
may not catch here to-day except in fancy the murmur of the 
river sweeping by the poet's study ; we may not see 

* the lights of the village 
Gleam through the rain and the mist,' 

but we may hear the old clock on the stairs ticking, — 

' Forever — never — 
Never — forever.' 

The sweetness of the ' Children's Hour ' has soothed many a 
mother's and father's heart here in Georgia, and the trumpet 
blast of the ' Psalm of Life ' has stirred every young man's 
heart from Boston to Atlanta. 

" We know, then, that the soul of Longfellow is with us here 
to-day. And the other great tenant of the Craigie House, 
the grandest, standing alone, supreme, — Washington, — his 
spirit is present here. Under the old elm of Cambridge he 
drew that sword which flashed freedom from Massachusetts to 
Georgia. 

24 



370 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

" And be sure that as we gather here to-day a brighter ray 
of sunlight than common plays around the summit of the gray 
shaft on Bunker Hill, and the old war-echoes which haunt the 
peaceful vales of Concord and Lexington come to us softened 
into murmurs of peace and love. 

" We come, then, to encourage, to aid you in a slight degree 
in your great undertaking. We earnestly hope that you may 
win solid success and derive substantial profit from your earnest 
and untiring labors. May they bring you material wealth, and, 
better still, may they bring you the riches of the mind, the 
broadening and uplifting of soul more precious than jewels of 
silver and jewels of gold, and the strengthening of the spirit of 
fraternity, of patriotic love, which shall warm the great heart 
of America, giving to seventy millions one flag, one purpose, 
one destiny, one glory. 

" Already upon your State seal you have written, ' Agricul- 
ture and Commerce.' To-day you may proudly add ' Manufac- 
tures ; ' and the progress of a community in art and skill and 
handiwork in the industrial arts means a step in the direction 
of the highest civilization. 

"We see here the dawn of a grand future. The funeral 
drums of the past are dying away in the distance. This grand 
exposition ; the sympathy and cheer of your sister States from 
every quarter; the grand message delivered in Boston by that 
cliivalric and high-souled son of Georgia, John B. Gordon, 
which is even now ringing in our ears ; the increasing trade ; 
the closer business relations, social and political ties ; the clearer 
understanding of the community of interests ; the similarity of 
conditions, — all point to a grander and higher development, a 
wider and nobler future, not only for Georgia, but for the Union. 

" As for Massachusetts, she fears no rivalry ; she invites each 
and all to a generous and friendly emulation. We do not re- 
pine because you have captured some of our cotton mills, — be 
careful that some of the owners do not capture you. If some 
of the blood of Massachusetts is injected into the veins and 
arteries of Georgia, it will not be found cold or sluggish ; it will 
give strength of heart and clearness of brain, sound judgment 
and high courage. 

"Massachusetts cannot boast of treasures of the earth, of 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 371 

vast territory, of coal or cotton, iron or lumber. The best prod- 
uct of Massachusetts is Massachusetts ; the best work of her 
people is her people. As they wring from the barrenness of 
Plymouth Eock the everlasting riches of civil and religious 
liberty and well-ordered government, so from every adverse 
condition, from every grim obstacle, they wrest the jewel of 
success. They see in your glory and prosperity no menace 
to their own, but a help and a stimulus. 

" If you catch up with us in one line of industry, we must 
try to increase our pace. If we cannot do that, we will strike 
out in another line. If you must manufacture cotton cloth, 
we will dye and print it, and decorate it. If you make our 
product more cheaply than we, we will diversify, — invent more 
delicate textures, more artistic designs. If we cannot do this, 
we will make the machinery for you to do the work. * One 
star differeth from another star in glory,' and the glory of this 
star of the South adds to the glory of our star of the East. 

" ' The heavens declare the glory of God.' Yes ! and what 
brighter vision of heaven can mortal eyes ever see, what heaven 
better declares the glory of God, than that heaven in which the 
constellation of the union shines with increasing splendor, every 
star lending lustre and beauty to every other ? 

" In bringing our message we do not hide a single page of 
history. In 1799 you wrote upon your State seal, ' The Con- 
stitution, Wisdom, Justice, Moderation.' These still you have. 
There is the whole story. In the new Georgia, the new Atlanta, 
there is so much of promise and hope that we need not dwell on 

* Old, unhappy, far-off things 
And battles long ago.' 

" And upon the most urgent problems of our day, a word of 
power and light has been spoken by one of those most inter- 
ested, Professor Booker T. Washington. It is words of wisdom 
like his which give life to nations. 

" If we must go back, let us go back to the inspiring recollec- 
tions of the very origin and foundation of freedom. Let us 
remember how, as Pallas sprang, fully armed with spear and 
shield, from the glowing intellect of Omnipotence, so the 
genius of constitutional freedom sprang in perfect panoply 



372 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

from the glowing thought of the Eevolution, — the mightiest 
revolution in the recorded history of mankind, whose great 
waves are even now beating against every throne of oppression 
in the world. No later shock or disturbance can impair or 
destroy the grand results of that divine movement of hu- 
manity. No subsequent convulsion can dissolve the eternal 
ties then formed among the thirteen colonies. 

" Eepresenting, then, the Sons and Daughters of the American 
Revolution in Massachusetts, I greet with warmest welcome 
the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution in Georgia 
and throughout the broad land. Keep forever burning the pure 
fire of patriotic love and patriotic purpose here in Georgia, in 
Massachusetts, and elsewhere." 

The address was received with great enthusiasm. The warm- 
hearted Southerners expressed with fervor their delight and 
admiration. Among the guests of Massachusetts was Gov- 
ernor Bradley, of Kentucky, whose State day followed that 
of Massachusetts. He earnestly solicited Governor Greenhalge 
to be present at their celebration, and speak to his brethren 
of Kentucky, To this request the Massachusetts Governor 
willingly assented. Again he was, as a prominent Kentuckian 
expressed it, " the star of the occasion." His address was 
as follows : — 

" Massachusetts and Kentucky and Georgia are not divided. 
They should not be looked upon as States distantly separated, 
but as Americans closely related. One touch of nature has 
made the whole world kin. We are brothers and sisters, and 
we have a common cause and a common destiny. There is no 
dividing line. That was done away with many years ago, and 
we have been brought closer and closer together as the years 
have rolled by. 

"We have a way in Massachusetts, as was demonstrated 
yesterday, of claiming everything. We just come along and 
take what there is in sight. Yesterday we talked about colonels. 
But colonels have got to be just a common every-day affair ; 
and unless the inpour of governors is stopped, governors will 
be as common as colonels. Now, there is Governor Bradley ; 
he will soon be just as common as we are to-day, for now he is 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 373 

one of the elect. He talks about Clay. Why, does not Clay 
belong to Massachusetts just as much as he does to Kentucky ? 
And what does he say about Lincoln ? My friends, do not you 
know that there are more pictures of Abe Lincoln in Massa- 
chusetts than in the whole State of Kentucky ? Those great 
men belong to the Union, for which they devoted the best por- 
tion of their lives. 

" The history of the State of Kentucky is different in some 
respects from the others. She stands upon the dark and bloody 
ground. It is an easy matter for the North to stand guard and 
fight back the foreign foe. It is an easy matter for California 
to protect the Western coast ; but Kentucky stands between, 
and keeps peace among her children and brothers. Well do I 
remember when the question of the late war was brought up 
in Congress, Kentucky was the peacemaker. She understood 
the situation, and she said to the North, ' Go slow,' and to the 
South, ' Hold back ; you are all brothers, and do not be the first 
to take up arms against your own blood.' Kentucky has never 
yet in the hour of peril hesitated to cast in her lot and destiny 
with that of the other States of the Union, and she never will. 
Kentucky is the grand link that binds the North and the 
South, and she will ever be the one State that will be the first 
to lift the flag of the Union to the top of the pole. 

" Now, I do not care to have politics altogether. I would be 
just as proud to welcome the Democrats as I am the Eepubli- 
cans, provided I could find them. We are all working for one 
end and one cause. We are marching side by side. In every 
earnest endeavor you will find the hearty support of every 
Massachusetts man. Let us remember the glorious stars and 
stripes. Out of the forty-four stars, the star of Massachusetts 
is the brightest, and is the one particular star in the great con- 
stellation. We love the white in the flag, because it is the 
emblem of that which is noble in man ; and we love the blue, 
which, like a type of heaven, floats above us and bids us god- 
speed in our great work and blesses us. 

" If my coming to the Commonwealth of Georgia has been of 
any good result, I count myself more than repaid. I am first 
for the good of the country, and I have several thousand people 
in my glorious State who are of the same opinion." 



374 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

After three days, full of social and official duties, the Gov- 
ernor, accompanied by his staff and the members of the Exec- 
utive Council, returned home. Governor Greenhalge, by his 
cordial genial manner and genuine interest in their affairs, had 
roused a kindly feeling in all who met him ; and with the 
fond recollections which the people of Atlanta cherish of Gov- 
ernor Kussell, who came to them bringing his eloquent tribute 
to lay upon the grave of their beloved dead, will doubtless 
mingle pleasant memories of that other Massachusetts Governor 
who came to bring his message of peace and good- will. 

One of the Governor's staff tells us how on their homeward 
way, as they sat Sunday eve talking in the car, the Governor 
came to join them, saying, " Let us sing some good old-fasliioned 
hymns." And for two hours they sang, the Governor calling for 
hymn after hymn ; " and if we hesitated over any verse he 
prompted us, finally closing by singing * Abide with me.' 

" At the request of one of the party for the words of the last 
verse, the Governor repeated in an impressive, tender way, — 

' Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day ; 
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories fade away ; 
Change and decay in all around I see. 
O thou who changest not, abide with me.' " 

The Governor reached Boston on the 20th, and two days 
after we find him again at his work for humanity, speaking in 
behalf of the Armenians in Faneuil Hall. 

The second Thanksgiving Proclamation of Governor Green- 
halge was given to the people on November 5. Like the first, 
it is such as would naturally come from its author, — reverent 
in tone and finished in expression. It was as follows : — 

THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION, 
^ommontoealtft of SJ^ajSjSacbuiSettirf. 

BY 

Frederic T. Greenhalge, Governor. 

It is fitting that the people of the Commonwealth should 
remember and acknowledge the manifold mercies shown them 
by Almighty God during the year now drawing to a close. No 
signal or overwhelming calamity has visited them ; and such 



SECOND YEAR OF OFFICE. 375 

troubles or misfortunes as have come to them they have been 
enabled to meet with patience and courage, brightened by faith 
and hope. 

The family and home are the strong foundations of the 
Commonwealth, and the light of our political structure is the 
Word of the Lord. In the family and the home, therefore, as 
well as in the house of God, the voice of Massachusetts should 
be heard in praise and thanksgiving for the blessings and 
mercies of the year. " Blessed is the nation whose God is 
the Lord ; and the people whom he hath chosen for his 
own inheritance." 

I therefore, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Council, appoint the 28th day of November current as a day 
of solemn thanksgiving and praise to the Lord, whose loving 
kindness has been so constantly shown to us in the past, and 
whose strength and tender care will protect his people from 
one generation to another. 

Fredekic T. Greenhalge, Governor. 

The second administration of Governor Greenhalge ended, 
like the first, with general approbation. The list of his 
engagements was as long as that of his first year of office. His 
duties were not lessened. The wear and tear upon his strength 
had been enormous, and he plainly showed its effects. I, who 
heard him deliver the last speech of the fall campaign in 
Lowell, could not help noticing his extreme fatigue. I had 
never noticed the least irritation on his part, but that night 
he was extremely worn and sensitive. His speech was full of 
fire as usual, but the effort he made was plainly visible. 



CHAPTER X. 

LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. 

Greenhalge's third inauguration as Governor of the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts took place Jan. 2, 1896. He began 
his third year of office with the congratulations of the people 
and the good wishes of all. It must have been a great satis- 
faction to him to know that his administration had given such 
general satisfaction, and that he had secured so high a place in 
the estimation of his fellow-citizens. He no doubt looked for- 
ward to a successful year of activity and usefulness. Alas ! 
how soon he was called away from his sphere of duty. His 
last inaugural was as high in tone and as comprehensive as 
were those which preceded it. The following quotations are 
taken from it, and show its general character, — practical at 
once and patriotic. The passage on Legislation reaches a very 
high level of thought and expression ; it is worthy to stand as 
the last counsel of Governor Greenhalge. 

RAPID transit in BOSTON. 

In conformity with the recommendation which I made a 
year ago, the Legislature of 1895 passed certain amendments 
to the laws relating to the construction of subways in the city 
of Boston. Among other things, the powers of the commission 
in building the subway under the Boylston Street and Tremont 
Street malls were enlarged and more fully defined. 

As a result of this legislation, alterations in the plans were 
made, furnishing improved and more ample accommodations for 
the public. The work of construction is already well advanced, 
and I am glad to be able to state that there is good reason to 
hope that before the end of the year the subway will be ready 



LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. 377 

for operation from the entrance in the Public Garden to Park 
Street, and that the present most burdensome congestion on 
Tremont and Boylston Streets will be materially relieved by 
the transferring from the surface of the street to the subway 
of those Boylston Street cars which now reverse at the Gran- 
ary burial-ground. 

Again I ask the Legislature to give consideration to such 
amendments, if any, of the acts relating to subways as the 
commission may recommend for the purpose of facilitating the 
construction or increasing the utility of this novel and much- 
needed public improvement. 

I am confirmed in the opinion that the subway, when com- 
pleted, will add greatly to the convenience of the public, and 
will be found to be in every way a profitable and progressive 
enterprise. The greatest care must, however, be taken to pre- 
vent its being the object of selfish speculation, and to insure 
that conservative management of it which will regard the 
public interests as the prime purpose to be attained; and 
I am confident that satisfactory arrangements can be made to 
this end. . . . 

CORPORATIONS. 

I ask you to consider whether it would not be for the pub- 
lic interest to secure some legislation which shall require the 
terms of consolidation of gas or electric light companies to be 
approved by the board of gas and electric light commissioners, 
substantially in harmony with Chapter 506 of the Acts of 1894, 
applicable to railroad companies. 

Section 4 of Chapter 346 of the Acts of 1886 forbids a gas 
company to transfer its franchise, lease its works, or contract 
with any other person for carrying them on, and there seems to 
be no general law authorizing the consolidation of any of these 
companies ; but if this power exists, or should be granted, it 
should be exercised subject to the restrictions of said Section 4. 

Chapter 506, however, seems to apply to special railway con- 
solidation acts, similar to those which may be passed applying 
to gas or electric companies. 

A strict supervision of the operations of corporations, both 
public and quasi-public, would seem to be demanded for the 
protection of the public, whether as to increase of capital, ex- 



378 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

tension of functions, leases, or consolidations. And the grant- 
ing of special charters should be regulated and carefully 
guarded. The granting of charters to be used only as menaces 
to legitimate enterprises, or to be sold for speculative purposes, 
must ultimately work injury to the public. 

The recent legislation directed against stock watering has 
proved effective and beneficial. It would be well, further, to 
require all corporations chartered elsewhere than in the Com- 
monwealth to come under all the conditions and restrictions 
applicable to domestic corporations, especially in regard to 
paying in of capital. 

So much complaint is made of the harsh and questionable 
methods of so-called mutual benefit insurance societies or 
companies that it is incumbent upon you to consider the ex- 
pediency of exercising more ample State supervision over them. 

Let me call your attention to what seems to me a grow- 
ing evil. Last year more than $50,000 was expended by the 
various commissions and boards for counsel fees and legal 
expenses. This amount will increase rather than diminish, if 
the present system continues. I recommend your consideration 
of the following suggestions : Reorganize and enlarge the law 
department of the Commonwealth. Let the attorney-general 
have compensation sufficient to command his whole time ; fur- 
nish the department with all the assistants or deputies necessary 
to perform substantially all the law business of the Common- 
wealth in the way of advising the several administrative de- 
partments or furnishing other legal assistance. In this way 
more unity of system and of legal and consistent policy will be 
obtained than by committing this responsible labor to a dozen 
or a score of attorneys, acting without reference to any general 
plan or purpose. . . . 

GOOD CITIZENSHIP. 

But education, material and intellectual progress, the heap- 
ing up of riches, the improvement of our institutions of correc- 
tion and charity, the strengthening of police and militia, the 
purification of political methods, the exaltation of justice and 
its administration, will avail us nothing, if out of all this 
improvement, development, and progress we do not secure a 



LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. 379 

high standard of citizenship, which is not only the foundation, 
but the end and aim of all good government. 

There are various suggestions as to the mode of improving 
the quality of citizenship, among them the following : — 

1. Greater care should be exercised in the administration of 
naturalization laws, so far as our State courts are concerned. 

2. A probationary period of residence after naturalization 
might be prescribed by constitutional amendment. The twenty- 
third amendment was such a constitutional provision ; this 
was repealed as unnecessary and oppressive ; but existing cir- 
cumstances may seem to justify at least a shorter term of pro- 
bation. 

3. While there may be a division of opinion as to dis- 
franchising for felony, as is done in some States, it seems clear 
that persons undergoing sentence in penal institutions should 
not be permitted to vote. 

The decisive vote on woman suffrage at the recent State 
election would seem to show that public opinion will not for 
some time be prepared to accept any radical change in the 
established system of suffrage ; on the contrary, the public 
mind appears to be growing more and more in favor of biennial 
elections, and there is no good reason why the question should 
not be submitted to the people. . . . 

LEGISLATION. 

The purity and character of a legislature rest largely with 
the legislature itself, and ultimately — or, rather, primarily — 
with the people. All laws based upon a reckless assumption 
of the inherent baseness of legislatures are as likely to aggra- 
vate as to remedy real evils, which are, I trust, at present small 
rather than great. The character of the legislator of Massachu- 
setts should be as high as the character of Massachusetts ; it 
is, in fact, the character of Massachusetts. Yet every safe- 
guard, every precaution, every danger signal, must be used to 
warn, to admonish, to deter the weakest — or the meanest — 
mind which could possibly entertain the thought of prostitut- 
ing the high public trust reposed in a legislator to selfish or 
sordid ends. Stringent legislation, calculated to emphasize to 
the legislator the necessity of being above suspicion, and to 



380 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

warn the lobbyist of the peril he runs in even approaching 
the legislator with corrupt proposals, will serve to prevent 
those vague rumors which from time to time disturb the pub- 
lic mind without crystallizing into specific cases. Such legis- 
lation would prevent rather than recognize the alleged abuses 
of the lobby. . . . 

CONCLUSION. 

The growth and improvement of the Commonwealth as 
here set forth are not limited by material or physical lines. 
Charity is learning to be business-hke without being sordid; 
correction is becoming gentle without becoming weak ; educa- 
tion is bountiful in her gifts, but not extravagant. We must 
not, however, fall into any such self-complacency as to reject 
or discourage improvement and further progress. We must 
not be unwilling to learn from others. Only by maintaining 
this earnest, open, emulous spirit can we hold and maintain 
the " glorious gains " of the past and reach out to the future 
for equal or greater achievements. 

Gentlemen, I have thus rapidly sketched for you the pres- 
ent condition of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts now com- 
mits her affairs to you. You take upon yourselves a great 
trust. May you be inspired in the performance of your duty 
by a spirit of genuine patriotic love and pride. In all con- 
fidence, the people commit to your care the future of the 
Commonwealth. 

The last public utterance of Governor Greenhalge was a 
speech delivered at the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Bos- 
ton Druggists' Association, at the Parker House, Tuesday, 
Jan. 28, 1896. 

During Governor Greenhalge's third year of office the citi- 
zens of Lowell inaugurated a movement to have made a bust 
of him, to be paid for by public subscription, and presented 
to the State in their name. The bust was executed in marble 
by Samuel Kitson ; and the date for its formal presentation to 
the State at the Capitol in Boston, arranged before his illness, 
was fixed for February 28. While he lay upon his death-bed, 
the presentation was made by Mayor Courtney, of Lowell. 
The occasion was made very impressive by the sad circum- 



LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. 381 

stance of his illness, and the people's fear for its result. 
Lieutenant-Governor Wolcott received the bust on the part 
of the State. 

Ill as he was, Governor Greenhalge still showed interest 
in the proceedings, and desired to hear about them from 
the writer, who was present. Courage at any time never 
failed him. 

It is interesting to note that the first act of the Governor's 
official life was to write a letter of condolence to the 
wife of ex-Governor Gaston upon the death of her honored 
husband, as his last was to write a similar note of sympathy 
to the wife of ex-Governor Eobinson. How little it was fore- 
seen that the death of the writer was so soon to follow that 
of the latter honored citizen ! 

On the evening of Friday, February 7, a new armory in 
Springfield was dedicated by a grand ball, — " Governor's 
Ball," as it was called, — and, though wearied and far from well, 
the Governor felt that he must be present. It was the last 
time he was to meet the people of the Commonwealth, — his 
people, as he Hked to think of them. 

The day following he returned to his home in Lowell, 
never again to resume his official duties, — duties so dear to 
him. 

In spite of the trials and anxieties which must come to every 
conscientious man in positions of public trust and responsi- 
bility, the years of his governorship were happy years to him. 
During his illness, when his wife spoke regretfully of the great 
tax that had been put upon his strength, how earnestly and 
with what emphasis he replied, " But I loved it, I love to 
work." " I am so interested in all these things," he said 
another time. In all the vast machinery which is necessary in 
the government of a great State, there was no part so small 
that he did not make its interests his own. It gladdened his 
heart to feel he was in touch with the people, that they trusted 
and loved him. 

" Yes," he said, half sadly, a few days before he died, as he 
listened to an editorial from a paper that had formerly been one 
of his harshest critics, which spoke of him as " our dearly loved 
Governor," in words of sympathy and commendation, — " yes, I 



382 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

think they are beginning to understand me." Happy it was 
that the understanding came while he was with us, for no man 
appreciated more affection and just commendation, or felt more 
keenly misjudgment and misrepresentation. 

It was hoped that, wearied and worn out with his many 
duties, with rest and change to a warmer climate, health and 
strength might return ; and preparations were made for a 
journey south, but on the eve of departure the stroke fell 
that told to his dear ones that hope was vain. For a few 
days he lingered, days full of beautiful memories to those 
who were with him. With his mind as clear as ever, and 
his wit as keen, many were the smiles his fun called forth 
from those about him. Every little incident was greeted 
with an apt remark or quotation. True to his love of poetry, 
the last book he asked to hear read was the Iliad. 

He met death, as he had ever met all troubles, bravely ; 
however great his sufferings he uttered no word of complaint, 
words only of cheer and thought for those about him. " I have 
never known finer courage, or more beautiful cheerfulness, or 
more tender consideration for others." Such was the testimony 
of that kind physician who, coming to him a stranger, " learned 
to love him." " It is wonderful, wonderful. I never saw any- 
thing like it," said his own faithful physician and friend of 
many years. 

At midnight, March 5, while the fierce tempest raged with- 
out, the summons came, "Enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord ; " and out from the turmoil and unrest of this life he 
passed into that peace for which he had longed, that "peace 
that passeth understanding." 

So ended a life of singular beneficence and power. Green- 
halge possesed a combination of qualities which made him a 
unique figure in the Commonwealth. An absolutely pure poli- 
tician, he was perfectly fearless in word and action. In " the 
scorn of consequence," he followed the convictions of an honest 
and upright man. In spite of his unbending integrity, he 
succeeded in political life. Indeed, it was because of his high- 
mindedness and uprightness that he did succeed to a degree 
well-nigh unprecedented in his State. He sowed good seed, 
and reaped precious fruit in the respect of the community, 



LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. 383 

the highest interests of which it was ever the object of his 
labors to raise and multiply. He loved Massachusetts. The 
State was to him an almost ideal community, — as it were, the 
conscience of the country. 

Though an orator of power, and distinguished by a never- 
failing faculty of eloquence, the basis of his character was 
calm and stable. He was just and reasonable ; one could rely 
always on his judgment. 

The significance of such a career is wide-reaching. It is 
typical of the strength of honest purpose. It shows the power 
of high-mindedness. It teaches to the young aspirant for 
public honor that there is nothing so successful in the end as 
personal probity and unselfish devotion to the best interests 
of the people, — that they can be made the means of advance- 
ment to the chief stations of trust and authority. 

The public expressions of grief and sorrow called forth by 
Governor Greenhalge's unlooked-for death were well-nigh un- 
paralleled in their intensity and earnestness by aught in the 
past history of Massachusetts. Not for seventy years had the 
death of any of her governors occurred while in office. But it 
was more than the loss of their chief executive officer which the 
people mourned. His death had something tragic in it which 
appealed to all men. Mourning draperies were everywhere 
seen upon the public buildings. That was public usage, and 
to be expected. What was moving and human was that the 
people seemed to feel his death like a personal grief. Many 
instances have been recalled which revealed in unexpected 
ways, in all classes, how deeply the people felt his loss. A 
desire for public and military obsequies, and that his body 
should lie in state at the Capitol, was widely manifested ; but 
the wishes of the family were respected, and his funeral was 
that of a private citizen. Yet it was most impressive. Nearly 
all who were most distinguished in the State were gathered 
there to do honor to the dead. The funeral cortege passed 
through streets lined with people, who seemed moved by a 
common sentiment and were hushed in silent respect. On 
Saturday, April 18, the State of Massachusetts paid her final 
honors to her dead Governor. The public ceremonies in 
Mechanics' Hall in Boston were simple, yet they expressed a 



384 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

grand sentiment, — the loyalty of Massachusetts and her 
appreciation of all that is best in the character of those whom 
she exalts. 

It is almost with reluctance that the writer brings to a con- 
clusion this record of the life of Governor Greenhalge, lest the 
full measure of justice be not done, and the portrait remain 
incomplete in some essential. The attempt might well fail 
to paint the character of the man. To be gifted with great 
talents is but an accident ; but character grows with the 
growing spirit of man in the contentions and struggles of 
life. It comes not without effort, without self-conquest and 
sacrifice upon the altar of some high purpose. 

He possessed an instinct for truth, — an instinct inseparable 
from any great or permanent work whatever, yet not too com- 
mon in a world where shams masquerade on all sides, where 
prejudice and partisanship sometimes appear as patriotism, 
political manoeuvring as statesmanship, and mere words and 
formulas come disguised as if clothed with divine right. 

His nature rested on great fundamental realities. There 
was no duplicity about him. He did not believe too much 
in the dupability of men, and knew that truth would make 
itself known among them. His belief in men gave him 
courage, so that here was a man who could dare and do. He 
had the simplicity of nature which endears itself, so that 
no political leader in Massachusetts possessed a more numer- 
ous and enthusiastic personal following. Through them his 
influence will long be felt in the politics of the State for 
good ; for in the circle in which he moved a liberal tolerance 
and breadth of view were sure to be taught by contact with 
him. 

More and more as time goes on the people of Massachusetts 
will demand a high order of leaders, — more liberality, a 
broader nature, real intellectual pre-eminence, — for things have 
changed. Life and its interests are more complex ; the people 
themselves are growing into something greater. The mere 
figure-head should disappear from American politics, and the 
real chief be found. Wealth alone should be no recommen- 
dation, nor mere political wire-pulling and skill. 



LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. 385 

Few men could have dealings with Governor Greenhalge 
without owning to themselves that here was a man, — a man 
of real intellect and power, — needing no notary parchment, 
no installation, to give him precedence. Time will show what 
his influence is to be. I believe that his career and that of 
Governor Eussell will raise the level of party nominations ; 
that the people of both parties have learned by them to know 
that success will follow the lead of men who have real char- 
acter and power, — even with no adventitious circumstance 
to help them, and needing none. By the character of its rulers 
this republic is to rise or fall. 



25 



POEMS. 



PKEFACE. 



The best of the verses written by Greenhalge during his busy 
life have already been presented to the reader in the preceding 
biography. All of them were written without an idea that 
they would ever be collected and published. 

They are not put forward now as being in all cases worthy 
of him, nor wholly because of their intrinsic merit ; but it is 
thought that they will have an interest and attraction to many 
who knew the author as distinguidned in a very different 
field. Some are school and college productions, written in 
early youth. 

The writer feels bound to make these few remarks because 
it may be that the author of the verses would not have per- 
mitted their publication as a whole, though there are among 
them many beautiful and characteristic poems. 

J. E. NESMITH. 



POEMS. 



THE YOUNG MAMMA TO HER MOTHER 
IN ITALY. 

Boast not of soft Italian skies, 

Of moon-lit lake and calm blue sea, 

My baby-boy's clear laughing eyes 
Are softer, lovelier far, to me. 

I know how well Murillo paints ; 

His angels surely could have flown ! 
But I can see all those young saints 

By turns in my sweet boy alone. 

And Raphael's cherubim are sweet, — 
On that pomt we can have no strife, — 

A thousand graces in them meet ; 
But where 's the royal grace of life ? 

Here 's life and motion, smile and tear, — 
The freak, the pet, the sweet amaze, 

The baby rashness and the baby fear, 
And beauty shines through every phase. 

I love the bards that filled the land 
With strains of melody divine ; 

Round Petrarch's, Dante's brow my hand 
The votive wreath would gladly twine. 

But there 's a music sweeter still 
That fills my quiet home with joy, 

And, sad or merry, soft or shrill, 
Give me the prattling of my boy ! 



392 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

IN A DIAEY. 

1871. 

As naiads bathing in a crystal rill 

To the clear water lend a clearer glory, 

So, love, this snowy page make whiter still 
With all the sweetness of thy pure life's story. 

As rose-bud June breathes fragrance through the year, 
And cheers a little grim December's gloom, 

Thy Hfe shines rose-like in Time's pathway drear. 
And gladdens troubled hearts with its soft bloom. 

From one sweet fault, dear girl, thou art not free, — 

Love for a sinner is that single taint ; 
The precious love that cheers my life makes thee 

A truer woman — and so less a saint. 



TO MY WIFE. 

To-day a strain of melody is heard 

Within the storm-beat mansion of my life ; 

It hails with all the glee of some wild bird 

The morn that gemmed the world with thee, sweet wife. 

See what a light shines in kind Memory's eyes. 
As, smiling, she brings forth her treasures rare ; 

Mark too the crown that decks her queenly guise ; 
Our wedlock years the brightest jewels there. 

And yet the past holds grief as well as joy ; 

'T is not more blest in quiet than in toil ; 
And we have learned that life is not a toy, — 

Its strength and hope are gathered from turmoil. 

But, like a sunbeam on a dreary morn, 

A diamond sparkling in the dust of life, 
A smile, a blessing, in a world forlorn, 

Have you been ever unto me, my wife ! 



POEMS. 393 



TO HAERIET R NESMITH. 

Duchess and Queen are names not worthy you, — 

The light world flings them where they least are due ; 
And Truth, not shrinking from her painful task, 

Shows vice and folly hid behind the mask. 
Seen in the radiance of your daily life, 

That starlike shines o'er gladness, woe, or strife, 
What are these diadems, these coronets. 

But baubles dark with crimes or wild regrets ? 
Your noble deeds, true woman, are your throne ; 

Your crown — the love God crives his own. 



A BIRTHDAY. 

Fair as the Day art thou ! though ancient earth 

Not oft has seen a day as fair as this 

Lift its sweet forehead to the sun's warm kiss, — 

Fair as the Day, that whispers of thy birth ! 

Behold ! by some love-philter joy and mirth 

Have charmed old Time ! he lies in drowsy bliss. 

Nor dreams that Love — and you — Love's love, I wis 

This day, at least, will rule the happy earth ! 

What royal music fills the spacious sky , 

With what fond hope all nature seems to thrill ! 

Like circling gems, the hours all glittering lie 

Around your neck, so restless yet so still ! 

Must such a day blend with the common past ? 

In my true heart its reign shall ever last. 

YOUR BIRTHDAY. 

Your birthday ? What imports the term ? 
Time's stealthy flight does it confirm, 
Or does it seize the year's wide power. 
To rest it in an upstart hour ? 
Or have those gentle, sweet-eyed days. 
That shed such light o'er all your ways, 



394 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Been changed, at some dark wizard's word. 

Into a Shade, with tears all blurred ? 

No, no, this day means naught of this — 

It shall be sweeter than Love's kiss ; 

Yes, every joy from out the Past, 

Its grace o'er you again shall cast ; 

And all the Future's promise sweet 

Your opening eyes, like morn, shall greet ; 

And Love, in kingly guise sublime, 

Shall haughtily wave back grim Time : 

And while this noblest of all wooers 

Shall press his fervid lips to yours. 

And ever seek with close caress 

Your cheek and eyes and loosened tress, 

That fair soft cheek shall keep its bloom, 

Those eyes love-light shall still illume ; 

And though the world grow gray and old. 

That tress of gold shall still be gold ! 

Still like the rose, that cheek shall glow. 

To hear Devotion praise it so ; 

Still in those deep, shy, thoughtful eyes. 

Be traced sad lovers' destinies ; 

And floating free that shining hair 

To eager hearts still prove a snare. 

For here 's the charm of noble mind — 

Wit keen, audacious, yet refined. 

That flashes through the daily life, 

Mercutio-like in sport or strife ; 

High purposes that scorn the earth. 

And reach to heav'n, where they had birth; 

And tender thoughts that softly go. 

Like angels, to the realms of woe ; 

Courage, that eyes the mid-day sun. 

And points to deeds yet to be done ; 

And Purity, — a sword of flame. 

That guards each path from spot or blame. 

So, shining with this inner light. 

Beauty reigns still in Time's despite ; 

And, glorious with eternal youth. 

Love lives, like Truth, for Love is Truth. 



POEMS. ^^^ 



A MEMORY. 



Autumn, that painter, dark and bold, 

Had flecked with crimson hues and gold 

The wide picture of the sea, 

The shore, the sky's immensity ; 

The wind breathed like a harper mild, 

That seeks to soothe a fretful child ; 

And soft reply Atlantic's wave 

To the pine forest's murmur gave ; 

Arundel's woods were fresh and cool. 

The moss how green, how bright the pool ! 

'T was early morn, the village bell 

In silvery whisper warned the dell, 

When through those glades, beneath that sky. 

In sweet converse walked you and I. 

IN MEMORIAM. 

Mrs. Eebecca Caverlt, Lost at Sea, IVIay 7, 1875. 

HOUSE of God, where late she knelt. 
The voice of mourning fills thy walls ; 
The dirge is sung, the teardrop falls ; 

A vague, strange sense of loss is felt. 

All burdenless here stands the bier. 
Save for the pressing weight of gloom ; 
In vain the flowerets smile and bloom, 

To deck a form that is not here. 

"Give up thy dead, stern, cold sea!" 
The billows break with sullen roar 
Upon a bleak and rugged shore, — 

The only answer to our plea. 

In native earth she may not rest 

Among her household's quiet graves. 
Where, by the soft stream's gleaming waves. 

In peaceful sleep repose the blest. 



396 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGR 

Yet did her pure and graceful life 
Breathe sweetness on this air of ours, 
Give lasting joy to fleeting hours, 

And bring calm peace to scenes of strife. 

And when in sorrowing groups we meet, 
This thought our tearful grief beguiles 
She lives in happy children's smiles. 

And in the lives by hers made sweet. 

Oh, doubt not, though your grief be wild, 
That He who walked on Galilee 
Shone forth on Scilly's raging sea, 

And clasped the mother and her child. 



J. F. McE- 



Eequiescat in Pace. 

Was it a gleam of the fickle sun, 

Flashing a moment through mist and cloud, 
As the organ's thunder rolled on high, 

And a thousand heads in prayer were bowed ? 

Or was it a smile of the pictured saints, 

As the high-roofed church with music filled ? 

Or was it that we and the dead we bore, 

By God's own blessing were strongly thrilled ? 

Then we thought of the glorious years gone by, — 
The glorious years of our youth and joy ; 

"When all the sands of the hour-glass ran 
To sparkling gold without alloy ; 

And the days like sportive nymphs danced by. 
Strewing on us their roses and smiles, — 

And our boyish hearts, aglow with love, 
Fell an easy prey to their sweet wiles. 



POEMS. 397 

How grandly above the base world's din 
Our joyous roundel and chorus rang I 

The star-crowned night would smile and wait, 
And murmur back the songs we sang. 

Then highest and clearest and sweetest of all 
Kang the voice now silent to mortal ears — 

'T is heard at the gate of heaven to-day 
By Him who wipes away all tears. 

IN MEMOKY OF JUDGE GARDNER 

Great Architect ! we are but dust 
Unless thy love smile on us here ; 

A brother's soul we now intrust 
To thee, Lord, without a fear. 

Whom bring we to the shining door ? 

A loyal knight and Mason he — 
His virtues he like jewels wore. 

And starred with glory each degree. 

For, working in thy temple. Lord, 

With awe he marked its spacious lines ; 

His heart was but thy trestle-board. 

Whereon were traced thy grand designs. 

As in the courts of earth we saw 

His work from youth to life's decline. 

We knew he judged so well man's law. 
Because he lived, Master, thine. 

HYMN 

Written for the Unitarian Celebration of the Last Sunday 
OF THE First Century of the Republic. 

Hail to the Sabbath sweet, — the last 

Of all a century's Sabbath days ; 
Float, blessed day, into the past, 

Eich with a nation's prayer and praise. 



398 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Thy power, O God, shines through these years 
That bound our nation's splendid morn ; 

Thy hand each needed bulwark rears, 
Thy voice 'gainst secret foe doth warn. 

Still keep, dear Lord, yon flag unfurled 
O'er Freedom's chosen citadel, — 

Cheering anew the slavish world. 
And lighting up each captive's cell. 

That faith in man teach to mankind 
That's born of purest faith in thee ; 

Then tyrants can no longer bind. 
And Eight will rule from sea to sea. 



KENNEBUNKPOET HYMN. 

I LIFT mine eyes unto the hills. 

My strength is throned there ; 
The rocks, the forests, and the hills 

To Thee all raise their prayer. 

Far up the river's silvery thread. 

Behold the streaming tide ; 
As those bright waves their gladness spread, 

Thy love is all their guide. 

The storm lowers o'er yon restless deep, 

The seaman holds his breath ; 
In safety, Lord, thy children keep. 

Or be their life in death ! 

Lo, at thy word Peace rises crowned. 

And smiles o'er land and sea ; 
Thus peace and joy are ever found 

At last, Lord, in thee. 



.^^ 



POEMS. 399 

HYMN 

Written for the Grant Memorial Service, Lowell. 

God of the free ! let thy radiance shine 

O'er the dark tomb where our hero we lay ; 
Freedom he loved with the furor divine, 

Bless thou his soul whilst a Freeman can pray ! 
Take to thyself, mighty Lord God of hosts, 

Him who on earth bore thy own flaming sword, 
Smiting to death all the traitor's wild boasts. 

Making thy name through all nations adored. 

Let him have peace — like the peace that he won 

On the red field where the blood fell like rain ; 
Grant him thy peace in the name of thy Son, — 

Peace that is earned but by anguish and pain. 
Far down the sky hear yon loud trumpet ring, 

" Open God's gates ! " peals the archangel's voice, 
Cherubs and nations exultingly sing, 

"He is with God! then rejoice, oh, rejoice!" 



FALLEN LEAVES. 

I KNOW a streamlet, deep and still, 

That through wild woods seeks out a way, • 

I saw it when the blasts were chill. 
And o'er it autumn brooding lay. 

But soon the wind flung on its wave 
A gorgeous mantle of bright leaves, — 

Scarlet and gold and green, they gave 
A glory man's art never weaves. 

And as those fallen leaves lent grace 
Unto the streamlet's darkening flow. 

And, falling, found as high a place 

As when they bloomed in summer's glow ; 



400 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

So, though our labors seem to fail, 

And low our blooming hopes are hurled. 

Like fallen leaves they still avail 
To beautify a dreary world. 



A MEMOEY. 

Rest, weary heart, in memory's secret glade, 
Far from the vulgar turmoil of to-day. 

'T was June ; we sat, — so happy, yet afraid, — 
And saw or heard the brooklet glide away. 

The brooklet played with every leaf o'erhead ; 

It laughed and sang to every stone and fern ; 
Catching a sunbeam, faster on it sped. 

And brighter, gayer, seemed at every turn. 

Do you remember, too, that tender hour ? 

Our souls embracing in our meeting eyes, — 
Sweet madness ! for an instant Love's wild power 

Held sway o'er laws and rules and formal ties. 

For hatred, snarling envy, what cared we ? 

The columned forest was Love's citadel ; 
Your eyes were heaven — yes, all of heaven to me ! 

Ah, had I dared to yield to their sweet spell ! 

The moment passed, swift as the currents flow. 

Your way you went, I mine ; yet now and then 
Rich music floats from out the long ago. 

And brings back all that moment's charm again. 



TRUE KINGLINESS. 

What is a king without a kingly heart ? 
The gilded trappings never are a part 
Of real majesty ; 't is from the soul 
Come light and power to dignify the whole. 



POEMS. 401 

At noonday, all unseen by mortal eye, 
Great Sirius flames in yonder clear blue sky ; 
The clown has eyes but for the daylight's glare, 
Yet that bright presence still is flaming there. 

Heroic hearts, faint not if your brave deeds 
A sullen world applauds not, — no, nor heeds. 
Your work is good ; 't will not be more or less 
When crowned with that false gewgaw called success. 



TONS ARETHUS^. 

Pour forth, merry hearts, from the music within, 

A glee that shall ring to the sky ! 
That from forest and hill a rich answer shall win. 

And at last in pure melody die. 

A louder stram yet ! till the troubles of life 
Are all lost in the depths of your song ; 

Our souls keener grow for the world's bitter strife, 
And for battle with panoplied Wrong. 

The song has been sung — Farewell to the hill. 

To the wood, and the waters dear ; 
The song has been sung, yet its music will thrill 

Through many a care-checkered year. 

We stand by the motionless water that gleams 

Like a gem in its circlet of hills ; 
The moon in her cold, proud loveliness beams 

Enchanting, although she chills. 

The last wheel spurning the frosty road. 

As a far-away echo we hear ; 
The window is dark in yon lonely abode, 

And silence is queen far and near. 

What spirit is hid in the wood or the lake, 

In moonbeam or cloudlet or tree. 
That can for worn hearts such a paradise make 

Where they rest all careless and free ? 

26 



402 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

No longer the weight of our years we feel, 
The past is illumined with joy, 

Whence only melodious memories steal. 
And the gray-beard sings like a boy. 



SONG. 

Has the Past faded like a flower 

Never to bloom again ? 
Nor yields it back one trancfed hour 

To art of lips or pen ? 

Sweet Love that laughed from those sweet eyes \ 

Has sought less chilly deeps ; 
And Passion, Love's most beauteous prize. 

Once more, all spellbound, sleeps. 

Shall all that shining loveliness 

Be but Love's vacant throne ? 
Call back the exile, and confess 

The king shall have his own. 



VEESES 

Written in Alfred de Musset's Poems- 

A BEAKER of joy, by the gods ! 

A dance of light, color, and bubl^le — 
Drink ! hopeless and spiritless clods ! 
Slaves fearful of prisons and rods — 

Here 's a draught that will drown all your trouble \ 

Your life is but breath, nerve, and blood, — 
It creeps through the days like the snail ; 
'T is a current with never a flood, — 
Withered stalk, without leafage or bud, — 
A voice that is only a wail ! 



POEMS. 403 

Here 's a life that has bloomed into flowers, 

That has sung itself into a song ; 
That made love to the coy, blushing Hours, 
While its heart's blood poured out in rich showers 

Of nectar delicious and strong ! 

Who sits at the head of this feast, 

With the sweet tender eyes of the dove — 

With a smile like the morn-jewelled east, 

And a forehead that Time never creased ? 
'T is Love ! 't is all beautiful Love ! 

Ah, Time ! sly impostor, a vaunt ! 

Not a scrap from this banquet is thine ; 
For tribute thou hast but a taunt. 
Nor can thy dull scythe ever daunt 

A soul that 's already divine 1 

Then drink — sad or merry heart — drink 
The soul-vintage sweet Love has distilled. 

How the wild bubbles beckon and wink ! 

Ah, Love is life's life, I think — 

And with Love your life may be filled. 



SEKENADE. 

Shine, gentle Queen of Night, oh, shine 

Upon the sparkling wave. 
And shed as soft and clear a light 

As thy mild orb e'er gave. 
Hushed be all sounds profane, as when 

In love-lit hours gone by. 
The night heard but young Eomeo's prayer 

And Juliet's answering sigh. 

The tranckl lake, the dreaming wood, 
Wait for love's whispers now ; 

Ah, music hath no charm so deep 
As breathes in lover's vow. 



404 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Wake, sleeping flowers, and fragrance lend 

Unto the blissful hour, 
Faint odors shed o'er lake and stream, 

O'er forest, hall, and bower. 

Now plead, fond youth, thy hopeful cause 

With earnest lips and true. 
While kind night hides the sweet girl's blush, 

She '11 give the love that 's due ; 
Her heart's dear secret whispered now 

Thy patient faith will bless — 
And all the world seems filled with joy 

When sweet lips murmur, " Yes ! " 



A HOPELESS LOVER ^ 

(After Swinburne.) 1 

What is your charm, that thrills like subtle wine 

Each glowing drop in this wild heart of mine ? 

Is it the symmetry of moulded limb, 

The grace of form, the waist and ankle slim ? 

Is it those eyes, whose shy, seductive play 

Leaves me uncertain if they 're green or gray ? 

Is it that modest yet audacious mind, 

That would be pure, but will not be kept blind. 

That craves experience of good and ill. 

Yet keeps its loyalty to virtue still ? 

God knows ! / only know, whate'er it be. 

It holds my heart-strings, yet is not for me ! 

Whate'er it he, 

'Tis not for me ! 

Strange impulses I dare not even name — 

That turn the tortured heart and brain to flame — 

Draw me to you ! Powers hellish or divine, 

I '11 worship if they will but make you mine ! 

Sweet eyes ! lurk bliss or death in their clear deeps. 

Downward all reckless my mad spirit leaps ; 



POEMS. 405 

Yet I must never clasp that supple waist — 
I swear 't was only made to be embraced ! — 
Nor drink in heaven from those dewy lips, 
Not even touch with mine those finger-tips ! 
Ah, no ! I feel my fate is but to be 
Slave to a charm whose joy is not for me ! 

Whate'er it he, 

'Tis not for me ! 



A LAST FAREWELL. 

I SEE the Morning, robed in sunlight, rise ; 

Night's pain and sorrow can no longer stay. 
The world, half waked, smiles to the smiling skies, 

And bends to catch the blessing of the Day. 
Hope, Joy, and Youth are rulers of the hour. 
And grand the music which proclaims their power ; 
But over all forever seems to swell 
The endless anguish of a last farewell ! 
Farewell ! Farewell ! 

I hear the dashing of the joyful sea 

That sunward gayly flings its laughing waves ; 

The harbor and the ships resound with glee, 
And all is here that human comfort craves. 

Sing, morning stars, and clap your hands, ye floods ! 

Breathe melody, ye happy flowers and buds ! 

But, hark ! what means that sound, — a slow, deep knell ! 

The endless anguish of a last farewell. 
Farewell ! Farewell ! 

Farewell ! Great God ! does tyrant Sadness rule 
The throne where Grace sits smiling to the world ? 

Is Death lord of sweet Spring and merry Yule, 
And has Christ's banner been in vain unfurled ? 

I cannot tell. Let others hope and gain ; 

Their song can never cheer this dull refrain. 

Still in my ears there rings a funeral bell, — 

The endless echo of a last farewell. 
Farewell ! Farewell ! 



406 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 



COMPEENEZ-VOUS ? 

Within a quiet, star-lit bay, 
A noble ship at anchor lay. 

She seemed upon the wave to rest 
Like a lover on his loved one's breast. 

No sound save when her timely bell 
In silvery tones said, " All is well ! " 

Beauty is there, on every hand, 
Shining on sea and sky and land ; 

And Peace, with finger on her lip. 
Guards tenderly the dreaming ship. 

But, see ! the Moon ascends her throne — 
Among a myriad lights — alone ! 

And from the great ship's shadowing side 
Mark you that shallop swiftly glide ? 

See you yon wooded shore where gleams 
The moonlight over murmuring streams ? 

Hear you that voice, so sweet and low. 
In witching music come and go ? 

And now the conscious woods confess 
They hide a shape of loveliness 

So radiant that the sober eye 
Might deem it born of ecstasy ! 

If flesh and blood, give God the praise ; 
If stone, 't would Phidias' soul amaze ! 

But onward still the shallop glides ; 
The voice, the gleaming figure, guides. 



POEMS. 407 

And as in dread of starry skies, 
Into the forest's shade it flies. 

Safe from the moon, from watchful star. 
The shallop goes, — who knows how far ? 

Yet from the lofty ship the bell, 
In silvery tones, says, " All is well ! " 

And all is well ! for Love is king 
O'er shallop, ship, and everything ! 



SONG. 

As yon soft star of the west 

Is glassed in the wide-rushing stream, 
So your sweet image doth rest. 

Like light in the depth of my dream ! 

And it shines, though the wintry blast 
Comes shrieking from Arctic wilds — 

And still, though the sky is o'ercast, 
My heart is a sleeping child's. 

Then, beloved, withdraw not your light ; 

Come near to me, nearer still. 
Till, safe in your beauty's might, 

I may nestle and fear no ill ! 



THE MUSHEOOM. 

Deae child of tearful Night, pale as the star 
Chased from yon sky by all-triumphant Morn, 
Who, fired by loftier hates, looks but in scorn 

At thee, as on he speeds his glowing car — 

Thy hour now comes ! When votaries from afar 
Come chanting loud, " The feast is but forlorn 
Which, sprite of savor ! thou wilt not adorn ; " 

"WHiile Luxury hails her last-found Avatar ! 



408 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Woe to the churl who thoughtlessly shall tread 
Thy tender lamince beneath his heel ; 

For him no bounteous table shall be spread, 
No pungent relish glorify his meal ; 

But Taste's rare joys make that man half divine 

Who bows, imperial Fungus, at thy shrine. 



ODE. 

Class Supper, H. U., June 25, 1878. 

Though youth may be waning and joys taking flight, 
The warmth of old friendships will cheer us to-night. 
True hearts that we leaned on in life's beaming morn. 

We trust in you still ! 

For nothing can chill 
The love of youth's fervor and purity born. 

With Hope's banners streaming we marched to the fray ; 
Those banners droop, tattered and war-worn, to-day. 
But courage, companions ! our swords must not rust — 

Though human endeavor. 

Unaided, fails ever, 
Our triumph is sure, for in God is our trust. 

Crown Mem'ry with garlands ! for, won by her wile, 
The Past, robbed of darkness, shmes out like a smile ; 
Eoll back, frowning years, all your grief and your care ! 

Each soul, now set free, 

Fills night with its glee. 
And burns with new courage to do and to dare. 

What proofs must we bring this rich welcome to win ? 

A sword bright with triumph o'er baseness and sin, 

A name from whose lustre Shame turns its dark face — 

And thy service. Duty, 

Clothe each life with beauty, 
And shed o'er our meetin" the light of true crrace ! 



POEMS. 409 

MAJOK HENEY LIVEEMOEE ABBOTT. 

Killed in the Battle of the Wildekness, 1864. 

So " Little " Abbott 's gone ! — lie fell 

With three great wounds upon his breast ; 
His pure, brave life deserveth well 

The hero's fame, the Christian's rest ! 
He died as he had wished to die. 

Amid the battle's fiercest glare, — 
His faint ear caught the victor's cry. 

His pale lips murmured words of prayer. 

He whispered, very near the end : 

" My poor, brave fellows who are slain 
Left dear ones, — whom the Lord defend ! — 

All that I leave shall be their gain." 
Yes, kind and tender through the past. 

So kind and tender was he still, 
When Death's grim shade loomed o'er him vast, 

And strove his generous heart to cliill. 

In college Henry was our pet. 

The love of all seemed but his due ; 
The lines 'twixt this or t' other set 

His loving, catholic heart ne'er knew. 
The light of his sweet, happy eyes 

Our silent, dark old rooms made bright ; 
His song, his laugh, his quick replies. 

Gladdened us many a frolic night. 

Again I see him on the shore 

When Harvard's red-caps lead the race ; 
His shout rings high above the roar, 

A smile breaks o'er his stern white face ; 
Through every rigid feature gleams 

Heroic purpose, hid till then 
By boyish graces, and he seems 

A man to govern warlike men. 



410 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Let others tell in lofty strain ,vi 

The matchless valor of the dead, — 
Pluck honors from the fatal plain, 

And bind them round his sleeping head ; 
For not so grand he seems to me 

In bloody field or foray wild, 
As when he stoops upon his knee, 

And seeks to soothe a crying child. 

Bury him by his brother Ned, 

Who fell at luckless Cedar Hill ; 
Together were the heroes bred, 

Together let them slumber still. 
High on the list of Harvard's slain 

Their spotless names shall proudly stand. 
Thank Grod, their blood 's not shed in vain ; 

That precious blood redeems our land. 



POEM 

Written for the Semi-Centennial of the Unitarian Society 
OF Lowell, 1879. 

Tell me, pray, why commemorate this day ? 
Is it because the swift years speed away ? 
Why, Man has babbled since he first had speech 
Of that dark Angel, whom no prayers can reach. 
No tears can stay. Time, in his dreadful wrath 
O'er man and all his works, hath made his path : 
Did he not drag him from his heavenly place, 
The curse. Mortality, stamped on his face ? 

Yet somehow, after lapse of humdrum years, 
Marked but by petty joys or petty fears. 
The commonplaces make a total grand, 
As some event that saves, or wrecks, a land. 
We hear a challenge — like a trumpet's blare — 
Eing out a sharp, imperious, " Who goes there ? " 
And to an unseen sentry we relate 
Our humble story up, or down, to date. 



POEMS. 411 

Thus we have met to talk about a church 

That did not for too high a mission search ; 

But, planted mid the sons of daily toil, 

Labored to soothe and soften life's turmoil. 

And, Truth ! she shrank not from thy form, 

Though armed with Death and throned upon the storm. 

To purify, to strengthen, and to cheer, — 

These were the objects that this church held dear. 

No specious arts were used to fill the pews, 

No tricks or wiles to cozen or amuse ; 

The creed was brief, and all its meanings plain, 

Nor did it after ponderous mysteries strain : 

With countless tenets Faith it did not flood. 

Nor make the Christian thirst for Christian blood. 

Good-will to men, and with the will, the deed, — 

Trust in a Father's love, — there 's all the creed ; 

Not with your lips, but in your lives, you prove 

That you are servants of a God of love. 

Lessons were failures, if the lessons taught 

No gracious influence on the conduct wrought. 

Faith leaned, at first, on Reason's mighty strength ; 

But that strength failed, and so sweet Faith at length, 

When ways grew dark, led her companion on, 

And ever through the gloom her bright face shone. 

But I must pause, and straight invoke a Muse, — 

To seem a poet, I dare not refuse 

To use the poet's fashion, and ask aid 

Of some kind genius or celestial maid. 

Ah, here 's the river ! — none a Muse shall lack 

Who dwells along thy shore, sweet Merrimack ! 

Hunt's Falls — I wish I knew thy Indian name, 

For such wild waters ours is very tame — 

I mark thy stream, where Dracut's wooded height 

Rises, with proud October's glories bright ; 

Yon wooded isles, — I see the waving trees. 

And hear their murmurs borne on every breeze. 

Oh, bring, bright river, from yon snowy hills 

The gentle music of thy thousand rills ; 



412 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

There's poetry in every ripple, — yes, 
The stream that turns the factory- wheel may bless 
The saddened heart of many a lonely girl, 
Her cheerless toil pursuing in the whirl. 
Then softly flow, and, rising from thy flood, 
Let deep-toned harmonies fill vale and wood, 
And, mingling with this graceless song of mine, 
Give just a hint of melody divine. 

'T is well, perhaps, that I should something say 

About the temple where you meet to pray. 

A gray old pile, with ivy overgrown, ' 

An air of by-gone days on every stone ; 

Eich, pictured windows, where some grim old saint 

Scowls at the sunbeam peeping through his paint ; 

A bran-new Keredos, made to look as though 

Some monk had wrought it centuries ago ; 

Memorial tablets, showing how the rich 

May put a scoundrel in a saintly niche, — 

Those upright slabs that downright stories tell. 

How this man went to heaven, who went — oh, well — 

No matter — Requiescat, anyway. 

But, blest or not, we 're blest if we can say. 

A bell, that gossip-like will wag its tongue, 

When one is married, or another hung ; 

Groined arches, sounding back the solemn strain 

Of Dies Irm wrung from hearts in pain ; 

Candles, gay altars, altar-cloths of gold. 

And all such potent aids to faith grown cold. 

For such a church as tliis^ go look elsewhere ; 

Ours is a very modest house of prayer. 

Our church is like Mohammed's coffin fixed 
Somehow, somewhere, the heavens and earth betwixt, 
Or hung like Brunelleschi's dome, in air, 
Eoofless and baseless — and the walls are bare ; 
Below, the eager tradesman bows and grins : 
Who knows just where the House of God begins ? 



POEMS. 41i 

Ah ! though our mansion 's in, or near, the skies, 
Our title 's not so clear to careful eyes ; 
But rights we have in that brick building there, 
And Hosford 's bound to keep it in repair. 

Shall I tell off the bead-roll of our saints, 

Men whose pure lives seemed free from mortal taints ? 

No ! should I call these good men from the tomb. 

The world would cry, " Some politician's boom ! " 

Let their bright names illuminate our hearts. 

But spare them from the vulgar's envious darts ; 

Eascals may buy false praises without stint, 

But good men seek not to appear in print. 

Let fools and knaves exult in purchased fame. 

But why should we such doubtful honors claim ? 

There are too many churches, — where 's the sense. 

Or piety, in all this vain pretence ? 

What empty pews, what pastors poorly paid ? 

Why should the pew-rent be so long delayed ? 

These tabernacles are but homes of debt. 

And bankrupts in their bankrupt churches fret : 

God asks no borrowed temples, — how can you 

Discourse, good parson, on the maxim true, 

" Owe no man anything," when each one knows 

The church's creditor will soon foreclose ? 

My friends, why are these sanctuaries built ? 

To lead to virtue and to cleanse from guilt ? 

Oh, no ! for see, in this degraded age, 

The pulpit 's turned into a vaudeville stage ! 

Weak natures madly love, or madly hate ; 

They know no midway, reasonable state ; 

Excitement they must have, but when and where 

Their pastor, cracked or selfish, must declare. 

Of all the knaves that do the world befog, 

The vilest is the pulpit demagogue. 

Well, let us pause, it takes too long to tell 

The story through, and we must say farewell. 



414 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENIIALGE. 

Young church ! with all thy fifty years, still young, — 
Long as pure prayers are said, or sweet hymns sung, 
Thy work continue, and the world still bless 
With the clear radiance of thy righteousness ; 
Uplift men's hearts and purify their lives, — 
For 't is the only way religion thrives. 
And this great truth let all thy history tell : 
Who serves Mankind doth serve liis Master well. 



A POEM 

Delivered before the High School Association, 1863. 

Oft has the old earth beaten round the sun, 
And into new years borne its human freight, 

Since we the world's rough pilgrimage begun, 
And left behind our boyhood's happy state. 

How often since, when full of doubt and fear, 
Vexed by the stinging cares that harass men, 

We 've paused awhile from our dull labor here. 
And lived in fancy boyhood's life again ! 

When, to the sounds of Virgil's graceful lyre. 
Our gamesome spirits danced a giddy round. 

Or, in the rapture loftier strains inspire. 

We trod in triumph Homer's sacred ground ! 

How oft have we, stretched dreaming on the grass, 
Sailed with the Ithacan o'er whitening seas. 

Struck with the Spartan at the bloody pass. 
And clutched the trophies of Miltiades ! 

So blessed those days the world to us appeared. 
The bright Atlantis of the sage's dream ; 

Nor war, nor woe, nor care, we ever feared. 
But Love and Poesy were all supreme. 

Strong hands that then our faltering steps did guide 
Have long since mouldered into primal dust ; 

Brave hearts lie pulseless, — hearts so true and tried 
On which we leant with perfect childlike trust. 



ii 



POEMS. 415 

The sweet young hopes that nestled in our hearts, 

Scared by the rude world's din, have ta'en their flight ; 

Cold Wisdom now her dear-bought lore imparts, 
And sweeps wild Fancy's vision from the sight. 

Those burning inspirations of our youth, 

That flashed their splendor on our ardent souls. 

The high, chivalric love of Fame and Truth, 
Now with sharp bit stern Selfishness controls. 

Fled are the dreams of peace enjoyed of yore, 
The sullen war-drums sound on every hand, 

And, spreading on from farthest shore to shore, 
The smoke of battle deepens o'er the land. 

Yet, mid the strife that shakes the frighted world. 
Where naught we hear but cannon's deafenmg play, 

And clang of squadron against squadron hurled, 
O'er one spot still doth sweet Peace hold her sway. 

And as the praying Hebrew's face doth look 

Still to the city of his fathers' God, 
So have our eyes that temple ne'er forsook 

Beneath whose porch our early footsteps trod. 

To-night, then, comrades, shall our hearts rejoice, 
Our weary feet no farther now shall roam ; 

For, with a sweet persuasion in her voice, 
The yearning mother calls her children home. 

And now that here, beneath one roof. 

First for long years we 've met together, 
Let 's see how each young fledgeling looks, 

Now that he's blooming in full feather. 

And which one shall we first select, 

And in our chair of state enthrone him ? 

Why, him who's called the Ladies' Man, 
Though ne'er a lady cares to own him ! 

This is our Lowell Turveydrop, 
Our model of genteel deportment. 



416 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

And when he walks our city streets, 

Be sure there 's something more than sport meant ! 
Yet though his life may seem serene, 

And though he 's blest with health and riches, 
He suffers great vicissitudes, 

At least in hats and coats and breeches. 
O wind that from old Concord blows. 

Sweet are the tidings thou hast wafted ! 
Eelief thou 'st brought to every heart, — 

The city swell at length is drafted ! 

Then here 's our youthful pedagogue, 

The darling of our fond old mother ; 
She proudly holds him up to sight, 

And, crowing asks you, " Where 's the other ? " 
Yes, here 's our Classic Lexicon, 

In size so small — though let none mock it ! — 
'T 'is just the sort of handy book 

A man can carry in his pocket ! 

Here comes our military swell — 

The fair ones say we must bring him in ! — 
Who 's done less harm to Southern foes 

Than to the hearts of Northern women ! 
With gay-plumed hat and jingling spurs. 

Of admiration what a glutton ! 
Then o'er his lengthy person mark 

The omnipresent lace and button. 
But, maiden ! fix your heart elsewhere, 

Or sad will be your young life's story ! — 
For, as he says, like Swedish Charles, 

His wife is War, his mistress Glory ! 
And yet, where'er our hero goes, 

The am'rous furor still increases ; 
A crash of breaking hearts is heard, 

And prudent cries of " Save the pieces ! " 

Many there are of our old friends 
We cannot pause to even mention. 



POEMS. 417 

Yet our prospective parson might 

Claim some small share of our attention. 
How sad his life, his mind alway 

Perplexed by Buckle or Colenso; 
And still, as each foe flies, he swears 

He '11 ne'er be taken in again so ! 
Then, too, he 's filled with strange desires — 

For which he '11 scarce get absolution — 
To write his sermons with a sword, 

Or teach a cannon elocution. 

Nor can we pass without a word 

Our school's most puissant debater ; 
Compared with Fox or Cicero, 

Why, he 's Hyperion to a Satyr ! 
Possessed of great command of words, 

His power he sternly exercises, — 
Poor thoughts decks out in tinselled words, 

Like fools in masquerade disguises ; 
And when he 's in his element — 

That 's when the Y. M. I. 's in session — 
You 'd think he 'd been to Babel, sure. 

To learn the art of clear expression ! 

Some that I 've named are dullards, p'r'aps ; but know 

The brave old school far nobler sons can show. 

Go back with me a few short months or more. 

Ere victory's blaze had spread from shore to shore, 

Ere broken was the haughty Southron's might, 

Nor Meade's proud name had leapt into the light. 

Look on the land — what doth your dim eyes greet, 

But wild confusion, shame, and black defeat ? 

See where dark Eappahannock's turbid flood 

Euns darker with the flow of Northern blood — 

And on the sad wind near and nearer comes 

The stern defiance of the rebel drums ! 

Look farther still, and strain the aching eye. 

What ! naught of comfort do you yet descry ? 

Oh, yes ; for there upon the Southern shore, 

27 



418 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Through the dun cloud of struggling flame and smoke 
That o'er the horrid prospect throws his cloak, . 
Flashing like meteor through the murky night, 
We catch the flutter of a pennon bright, 
And borne upon the south wind now we hear, 
There comes a faint, far distant shout of cheer. 
That thrilling shout bids good men hope anew ; 
That pennon bears, thank God ! the colors true. 
Though Treason fell without her walls may prey, 
Imperial Orleans owns our Butler's sway ! 
When sad Mischance on all our steps did wait, 
His strong arm still upheld the falling state ; 
With Hastings' vigor, free from Hastings' crime. 
He shone our only hope in that dark time ! 
And let Detraction howl its vile throat hoarse. 
Lean Envy on him waste its puny force, 
Indignant Honor shields the hero's form. 
And Fame's clear trump rings o'er the petty storm. 

Once more look to the pleasant South, 

And mark that mustering host, 
The flower of all the Northern land, — 

Your own New England's boast ! 
Oh, blithe their hearts when sweet and clear 

The morning bugles blew, 
When glancing bright in the gladsome light 

Their victor eagles flew ! 
Hope lit their eyes as then they turned 

Their faces to the foe. 
And while their firm tread shook the earth, 

Their song was Southward ho ! 
The day is spent, their march is done. 

The camp is sunk in sleep, 
Save where the wearied sentinels 

Their lonely vigils keep ; 
And midnight now has thrown o'er earth 

Its blackest funeral pall, 
When on the drowsy picket's ear 

Doth a faint, far murmur fall. 



POEMS. 

'T was not, he knew, the distant sweep 

Of Shenandoah's rill. 
Nor the wind's low sigh, through the cedars high, 

That crown the frowning hill : 
No ! 't was the tread of a mighty host. 

That winds adown the hill ; 
And a score of quick shots follow fast 

His challenge sharp and shrill. 
Then through the sleeping camp ring out 

The alarming bugle-notes, 
And hear the answering yell that bursts 

From a myriad rebel throats ! 
How dauntless is the Northern heart, 

How strong the Northern hand, 
Say ye who have seen the Northmen wield 

The deadly battle-brand ; 
Who 've heard their stern, exultant shout 

When front to foe they stood ; 
Who 've seen their thirsty bayonets drink 

The traitor's Southern blood ; 
Who 've seen, too, when, by hot-brained men 

To shameful slaughter led, 
How lustre e'en o'er black defeat 
Their desperate valor shed, — 
Seen them hurl back the invading foe 

Again and yet again ! 
Say ye, I pray, what lion hearts 
Are borne by Northern men ! 
Yet though the Northern arm 's so strong, 

The Northern heart 's so high. 
Those arms were weak, those hearts were chilled. 

When pealed that hellish cry, 
And down upon them bore the foe. 

Shouting their slogan wild. 
Led by that chief whose whispered name 

Will still the Northern child ! 
Yet one young heart stood firmly then, 

Nor harbored doubts or fears, 
And still as higher, higher rose 

Wild shrieks and maddening cheers, 



419 



420 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

And dreadful clash of meeting steel, 

And cannon's deepening roll 
Felt but the rapture music stirs 

Ever in heroic soul ! 
And where the Southron hardest pressed, 

Upon the bloodiest ground 
Caught in the battle's wildest whirl, 

There was our chieftain found. 
And when the noise of battle ceased 

Throughout that fatal vale, 
And on the wind the Southern drums 

In deepening distance fail ; 
And when, as, shocked at that sad sight. 

Slow came the shuddering day. 
There, foremost in the files of dead. 

The youthful leader lay ! 
And long as minstrel note shall swell 

With godlike deeds of arms, 
Long as the love of native land 

One patriot bosom warms, 
So long his story shall be told, 

To thrill the youthful breast. 
So long by fervent lips shall be 

The name of Abbott blest ! 

If we look round on those who throng this place, 

We miss, alas ! full many a well-known face. 

Yes ! hands that once sweet friendship's grasp but knew, 

Now clutch the bayonet moist with bloody dew ; 

Voices so gentle and benign of yore, 

Shout battle-cries above the cannon's roar; 

These friends we may not meet to-night, but still 

We 've sent to them our message of good-will ; 

And while, dear friends, all gathered here we stand, 

Their cheery answer rings across the land, — 

" Comrades ! we send you cheer 
From the war-ground black and drear, 
Where we lie and watch the camp-fire's dying embers ; 



POEMS. 421 

And oh, would that we might stand 
With our old friends, hand in hand, 
For the soldier still his golden youth remembers ! 

Swift the months have sped along, 

Since we marched, a thousand strong. 
From the homes where peace and quiet ever slumber. 

But how warm would be our thanks. 

If from out our death-thinned ranks 
We could count a paltry third of that brave number ! 

" Yet whisper not of rest ! 

For till Treason stands confessed, 
Let the battle-bugle trumpet forth its clearest. 

Though the fair-faced earth be stained 

With the ruddy life-drops drained 
From the manly hearts you cherish as your dearest ! 

Still let your hearts not faint. 

Nor your voices make complaint. 
Nor with Treason, though triumphant, ever palter ! 

But let the guilty fear. 

For the righteous blood is dear 
To the God whose arm will help us if we falter ! 

" And although sweet thoughts of home 

Ever haunt us as we roam, 
Still our hearts are blithe when ' Forward ! ' is the order ; 

And to crush the rebel foe, 

Still our feet must Southward go. 
Till our flag flies o'er the dear land's farthest borders ! " 

Think not my feeble song has dwelt too long on warlike 

themes ; 
Nor chide if its rude, loose-strung notes disturb your peaceful 

dreams. 
For cold or false that heart must be that feels no joyous glow. 
When Pennsylvania's daughters chant deliverance from the 

foe; 



422 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

When 'neath its glorious burden faints the glad wind from the 

West, 
That tells us loyal arms at length have lowered proud Vicks- 

burg's crest ! 
Yet think not ye who wield the pen, or ye who hold the 

plough, 
That Honor's blushing wreath falls but upon the warrior's 

brow. 
Your strength 's been felt in every blow struck on the bloody 

field; 
Your spirit 's fired each gallant charge 'neath which the foe 

hath reeled ! 
'Tis you who have those trusty blades beat out from metal 

true. 
Yes ! if our warriors battle well, their armorers are you ! 
While they have fought, your toil has reaped rich harvest from 

the land. 
Your glaring workshops' ceaseless hum been heard on every 

hand ! 
Your argosies make all our ports gay as a poet's dream. 
And every sea upon the globe reflects your pennon's gleam ! 
You 've kept the nation in the van of that grand race that 's 

run. 
And will be, by mankind through time, till God's whole will 

be done ! 
And still there 's work true arms to nerve, and loyal hearts to 

rouse, 
To see no bastard Peace shall e'er write shame upon your 

brows — 
We meet, my friends, in stormy times, yet for at least one 

night 
Shut out whate'er we see of dark, let in but what is bright ; 
And ere from out our Mother's sight again we take our 

way. 
Our prayers the Father shall besiege to haste that happier 

day, 
When war's wild scenes, that fright us now, shall be but 

memories dear, 
To stir the patriot's soul to fire, or claim the patriot's tear, 



POEMS. 423 

When muskets rest upon the wall, stout warriors guide the 

plough, 
And baby hands belabor drums that beat to battle now ; 
When shot-torn banners that of old streamed in the battle's 

breath 
Shall mouldering hang from chapel-roofs in stillness deep as 

death ; 
When Peace and Honor may at length go smiling hand in 

hand. 
And Nature hide with sweet spring flowers the blood-stains on 

the land ! 



ODE 

For the Class of 1860, L. H. S. 

When yon sun shall have sunk in the gold-veined west, 

Our band will be scattered and fled ! 
And with sad, solemn thoughts swells the heart in each breast, 

As we think o'er the days that are dead : 
Brightest days of our youth ! greenest isle in life's stream, 

Where like fairies sweet memories dwell. 
And their soft voices, calling, float near when we dream, 

Like the charm of a far-distant bell ! 

As the days and the months and the years swiftly sped. 

And the hour of our parting drew nigh. 
Brighter beams in our hearts friendship's sun richly shed. 

As it shone in the cloud-covered sky ; 
And still, as old time shall unceasingly run, 

And our future be wed with the past, 
May the glories that stream from that ne'er-dying sun 

Burn brighter and clearer at last ! 

In the bloom of our youth we are gathered to-day, 

And the hopes in our souls are yet green ! 
While the light of our joy round the future doth play. 

And no shadow throws gloom o'er the scene : 



424 FREDERIC THOMAS GREENHALGE. 

Yet in moments of joy, in our frolicsome glee, 
When unshaken and fresh in our trust, 

We shall cherish in memory those we but see 
In the flowers that spring from their dust ! 

From the reverend walls that have sheltered us long, 

We slowly and mournfully go ! 
And we hear the old echoes wake forth into song. 

With a melody plaintive and low : 
While the magical music floats soft to our ears, 

And a tear-drop bedims every eye. 
We will part who 've been banded together for years, 

And repeat a last solemn " Good-by ! " 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



A CONFERENCE OF NEW ENGLAND GOVERNORS. 

Wkitten for the ♦' North American Review." 

Some time ago it was intimated by me that an informal, 
business-like conference of New England governors should be 
held to consider what steps were expedient or necessary for the 
preservation and advancement of the interests of all New Eng- 
land. The suggestion thus put forward had not been reduced 
to shape or proportion, nor were the limits, scope, and purpose 
of the scheme at all distinctly defined. As neither time nor 
opportunity has been given for the present realization of this 
project, it may not be out of place to answer the inquiry as to 
what purpose and advantage would be subserved by such a 
proceeding as that suggested. 

I shall therefore, as plainly and concisely as possible, state 
what there was in the proposition as it presented itself in its 
somewhat crude and undefined form. At the outset I may say 
that it seems difficult to imagine what possible objection within 
any sort of reasonable limit could be offered to this suggestion, 
allowing always for the usual mild alarm which is excited by 
any novel idea in the minds of the " Forcible Feebles " of news- 
paper or political circles. To such minds the mere suggestion 
of such a conference brings up fantastic visions of evil portent. 
They imagine they see the mysterious John Henry, of Montreal, 
who during the long embargo attempted to create a feeling of 
disloyalty in New England towards the Union ; the gloomy and 
sinister figure of Aaron Burr, with his schemes of personal 
empire, his dark conspiracies, his implacable revenges, rises in 
all the vast and terrible proportions of Milton's Satan ; and 



428 APPENDIX. 

inevitably and as a matter of course, the Hartford Convention, 
the stock hete noir of Democratic imagination, again assembles 
the members of its " infernal court " which, according to ancient 
Eepublican nursery tales, was plotting to erect the " Kingdom 
of New Enfrland " with a monarch chosen after the most ap- 
proved opera-bouffe principles. 

It may be that comments like those referred to are in the 
nature of persiflage and are not meant to be taken seriously, 
and it is true that the jests emanating from the class of minds 
alluded to are so often clothed with solemnity and their serious 
thoughts so often attired in farcical garb that it becomes diffi- 
cult to decide what the true intent of the authors is, or whether 
they have any intent at all. But in answer to all questions 
and comments which may appear to be worthy of serious con- 
sideration, I present the following suggestions relative to the 
propriety and expediency of a business-like, informal conference 
of New England governors. 

This is the day of organization, of united, collective action, 
in every line and branch of human industry, effort, action, and 
thought. The world is learning every day the value and effi- 
ciency of union, of consolidation, of the marshalling and massing 
of forces, for the attainment of any given object, for the preser- 
vation of any right or advantage. We have organization, united 
action, in every direction. Everywhere we find organization in 
business ; of capital, manifested in trusts, syndicates, corpora- 
tions, pools, combinations, many of them beneficial, and many 
oppressive and illegal ; organizations of labor, forming all kinds 
of combinations under all sorts of names, — trades-unions, 
knights, brotherhoods, orders, federations, leagues, lodges, guilds, 
fraternities. " The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker," 
the doctor, the lawyer, the plumber, the railroad man, the gro- 
cer, the soldier, the sailor, — all of them, rich and poor, great and 
small, appear to have decided to " get together," and to move, 
not independently and individually, but in masses, by hundreds 
and thousands, and in very much larger numbers. We have 
also an infinite variety and number of social and political, as 
well as business, organizations. City solicitors, bar associations, 
county commissioners, mayors and ex-mayors, alumni and 
alumnse of school, college, and academy, boards of trade of city 



APPENDIX. 429 

county, and State, agricultural societies of county. State, New- 
England, and the United States. 

The conference and convention are then the ordinary and 
natural implements employed by the civilization of to-day. It 
is far more ordinary and natural to employ them than not to 
employ them. If the mayors of Massachusetts' cities were 
to hold a conference, in such a time as the present, to dis- 
cuss methods of relief, of furnishing employment, of dealing 
with pauperism and crime, of the best system of lighting the 
streets or of conveying away the sewerage, of meeting pesti- 
lence or diminishing taxes, it would probably be admitted 
that little harm and much good might result. As a conference 
of mayors might be productive of beneficial results, it would 
seem as if a conference of governors need not be fraught with 
peril or evil consequences. As the next larger circle beyond 
the town or city is the county, and the next beyond that the 
commonwealth, so by natural and regular gradation or expan- 
sion the town or city organization widens into the county 
organization, and this last becomes in its turn a constituent 
part of the State organization ; and the widest and fullest 
development of any organization in any of the six New Eng- 
land States is found in New England itself, which has all the 
elements of oneness contributed by climate, history, and situa- 
tion, by affinities, habits, pursuits, and interests. And so potent 
have these factors of unity been that from the beginning the 
States of New England, both as originally constituted and as 
existing now, have, in a great majority of cases, acted as a unit, 
political, industrial, or otherwise. 

In the early days of the republic, when interest and senti- 
ment were in an inchoate, if not chaotic, state, the instinct of 
self-preservation prompted the most jealous watchfulness on 
the part of one section, or one locality, toward another and 
every other. The early struggle to maintain and preserve the 
Union from the time of the adoption of the Constitution to the 
year 1812 was as heroic as the struggle for Independence or 
the war for the preservation of the Union. The War of 1812, 
even though it brought out at times warm sectional feeling, 
finally cemented and secured the Union. But the men of New 
England, and particularly of Massachusetts, were constantly on 



430 APPENDIX. 

the alert to detect and resist any hostile combination or any 
effort to diminish their influence or prestige in the Union. 
Their territory was small, and geographically or politically 
more segregated from the bulk of the national territory than 
any other portion. For a long period the people had lived, as 
Palfrey says, " in remarkable seclusion from other communities." 
They were wonderfully homogeneous, and of high and, what is 
more, of equal, social grade, and the whole community was 
marked by uniformity of character and purpose, which made 
New England the great force in the establishment of the United 
States and in its subsequent career. The people were ac- 
customed to act together from the first. In 1643 the four 
colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New 
Haven formed a league called " The United Colonies of New 
England." These little States contained thirty-nine towns and 
24,000 people ; and the union, rude as it was, proved of great 
value in the Indian wars which were soon to follow. 

In 1773 Massachusetts, representing New England, came 
into close political sympathy with Virginia ; and New Eng- 
land and Virginia led the way to the triumph of liberty and 
independence in 1783. After the formation of the Union the 
" balance of power " was to be preserved. Everything in the 
situation had been carefully weighed and measured, before 
the Union was consummated : population, territorial area, geo- 
graphical situation, wealth, and opportunities for future de- 
velopment. The purchase of Louisiana in 1804 occasioned 
much distrust and complaint on the part of New England. 
Already the united South had attained an influence in the 
national councils fraught with danger to New England. There 
were 840,000 slaves in the South, and fifteen votes were given 
to that section on account of this part of the population. Even 
then the so-called " negro vote " (which was not a negro vote) 
had been sufficient to secure legislation injurious to New Eng- 
land, and had practically determined the presidential election 
of 1801. Massachusetts went so far as to propose an amend- 
ment to the Constitution to correct this system of representa- 
tion, but it was not adopted. In 1808, while the " long embargo " 
was still in force, and the " Force Act " was exciting indignation 
and resistance throughout New England, a call for a convention 



APPENDIX. 431 

of the New England States was formally issued. It was the 
firm stand of New England at this time which contributed 
largely to the passage of the act lifting the embargo, which 
act was signed by Jefferson March 1, 1809. 

The Hartford Convention was held in December, 1814 ; but 
as the war soon terminated, and the rights of New England did 
not suffer in the settlement, the proceedings of that convention 
proved to be of no lasting importance, except in the minds of 
strong political partisans, who invest the doings and purposes 
of that body with a significance and complexion not borne out 
by evidence or history. 

And so from time to time the action and influence of New 
England have been exerted for the preservation of her rights 
and interests, and without injury or menace to any other por- 
tion of the country. The conference at Altoona in 1862 was a 
notable instance. To-day New England is practically a unit 
— political, social, and industrial — but her interests are those 
of the country at large ; she is at the head of the procession, 
not in the way of it. New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New 
Jersey, and all the industrial States of the Union are in full 
sympathy with New England to-day upon all the great political 
and economic questions at issue, and they will welcome her 
leadership in these matters instead of disputing it. 

It is apparent, then, that throughout her history New Eng- 
land has been a powerful factor in national affairs, and in the 
protection of her rights and interests by acting as a unit ; that 
New England is the natural, convenient, and effective consoli- 
dation of the interests and purposes of the several States within 
her limits ; that by reason of her enlightenment, her experience, 
her devotion to the best interests of the whole country, her 
success in business, in industry, and in commerce, her educa- 
tional and charitable institutions, in short by reason of every- 
thing which tends to develop, to strengthen, to adorn a State 
and to promote the happiness and prosperity of the citizen, New 
England is entitled to the respect and consideration of other 
States and sections of the country. 

But there are dangerous influences and tendencies at work 
to-day which bode no good to the country. The conservative 
influences and tendencies of New England should be expressed 



432 APPENDIX. 

in every reasonable and intelligent manner. Wlien Caliban 
rises to threaten the country with crude and reckless theories 
of business and finance, it is time that the beneficent powers of 
Prospero should be brought into play. New England has two 
claims entitling her to be heard : she is most deeply interested 
in good money and good business ; and she has had more ex- 
perience and presumably has more knowledge in these things 
than the people of any other equal area in the United States. 
As regards all the prejudice which may seem to exist against 
her in some quarters of the country, the depth or sincerity of 
this prejudice may fairly be suspected because it is contradicted 
by many honest and genuine tributes of respect which are un- 
mistakably offered to her by imitation of her institutions, her 
customs, and her methods. As for Massachusetts, she enjoys 
the loyal respect and love of her sister-States of New England 
to a most remarkable and gratifying degree. There is a warm 
sisterly feeling among the States of New England, and not the 
slightest symptom of envy, jealousy or uncharitableness, from 
one to another, so far as my personal observation or information 
goes. 

The questions of raising a revenue or of preserving a correct 
money standard are not the only questions before the people, 
though they may be of the first magnitude. There are other 
important problems which are to be considered and solved. 
Uniformity in many lines of legislation is important, — unifor- 
mity in industrial conditions as affected by legislation, in rail- 
road management, in sanitary regulations, in marriage and 
divorce, in the laws relating to wills, deeds, etc., in the laws 
relating to elections, to civil and criminal jurisdiction or admin- 
istration, and in many other matters. 

There happen to be six Republican governors in New Eng- 
land at present. This has not always been the case ; and as 
Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and 
Connecticut have sometimes chosen governors of other political 
parties, the unanimity of sentiment manifested by the present 
state of things might serve to promote an important object of 
the proposed conference, which was to impress the members 
of the national legislature with the wide-spread opposition to 
radical legislation in financial or industrial affairs. 



APPENDIX. 433 

In 1890 the population of New England was 4,700,745. The 
value of its manufactures in 1880 was $1,106,158,303, and 
the total value of manufactures in the United States was 
$5,369,579,191, from which it will be seen that New England 
produced more than one-fifth of the entire value of the product 
of the whole country. The great State of New York, with a 
population of 5,981,934 (an excess of 1,281,389 over that of 
New England) has manufactures to the value of $1,080,696,596, 
or about $26,000 less than the total value of manufactures in 
New England. It will be seen, therefore, that New England 
is as deeply interested in industrial matters or in legislation 
bearing upon industrial interests as any equal area of territory 
in the country. 

A conference of the chief magistrates of these New England 
States, a comparison of rules and methods, a discussion of 
popular and legislative tendencies, of popular and legislative 
needs or desires, of executive and legislative business and the 
methods of performing it, might and ought to be as productive 
of beneficial results as similar conferences of business, political, 
or social organizations, and it is possible that in critical times 
the united efforts or influence of the governors of New England 
might suffice to turn the scale of political or industrial action. 

Ekedeeic T. Gkeenhalge. 



28 



434 APPENDIX. 



PEACTICAL POLITICS. 

Written for the " North American Review." 

The practical politician is the necessary outcome of practi- 
cal politics as we find them to-day. A general understanding 
of the character of the practical politician is therefore indis- 
pensable in the consideration of what practical politics are, 
and what they ought to be. And we must recognize the fact 
that the practical politician even now has his uses and his 
merits as well as his vices and his defects. 

He is loyal, diligent, indefatigable in the support of his 
party and its candidates. The genuine practical politician 
never bolts the ticket, and he never forgets or forgives the 
man who does. He is versed in all the learning of political 
mechanism ; he knows just when a caucus is to be held, what 
States hold elections in any particular year, what majorities 
were given at this or that election, what " out " there is in 
any candidate. 

If any question of principle arises, he refers glibly to the 
last party platform ; that is his Bible, gospel, and law. In 
fact, he looks upon principle as a kind of imposture which it 
may be necessary to employ, — not, however, for the wise and 
intelligent, but for the ignorant mass which is to be cajoled 
and taken in. 

As I have said, he is loyal in a certain sense and to a cer- 
tain degree. He is a Dugald Dalgetty enlisted for the cam- 
paign ; he is, as the lawyers might say, true ad litem. He has 
an inexorable rule by which he can determine whether a pub- 
lic man is politically dead or politically very much alive and 
at the front, or, as he would say, " on top. " He is present at 
all political gatherings of his own party, and sometimes at 
those of the other parties. Neither rain, nor heat, nor busi- 
ness, nor family cares, ever prevent him from being on hand 



APPENDIX. 435 

where any political business is to be transacted. In his 
moral character he ranks well with the average of mankind. 
He is, as a rule, neither licentious nor intemperate. His 
views of principle in ordinary affairs of life do not apply to 
the business of politics. His justification of questionable 
transactions brought up to him for discussion by his wife and 
daughters is that such matters do not fall within the realm of 
ordinary moral rules ; they belong to the mysterious domain 
of politics. 

He comes to think that he makes and unmakes political 
careers and political reputations; that, after all, he is the 
main-spring, the force and the regulator of the body politic — 
to which term he gives a much narrower meaning than the true 
one. He reverences the machine, because he regards himself 
as the machine, or as a large part of it ; he loves details — he 
is a detail himself. Principles — great movements of the 
people — a candidate who has shot into the firmament like a 
new star, without having been put there, and lighted like a 
lamp, these things disconcert and irritate him. The " slate " 
is more important to him than Magna Charta or any conceiv- 
able constitution. The " slate " must not be imperilled by 
revolutionary forces. And he says, in the spirit of Louis 
XIV. : " The Slate, it is I. " He relies greatly upon what he 
calls the " farmer vote, " the " soldier vote, " the " labor vote, " 
etc., and can tell you exactly and precisely why a candidate 
will or will not get one or the other of these class votes, which 
he firmly believes are always cast en bloc. He cannot realize 
the inherent independence and power of reasoning of thousands 
of soldiers, farmers, or workingmen. 

He is a profound believer in thaumaturgy, in coups d'etat, 
in surprises. He says : " Wait, wait ; this campaign is young 
yet ; something will drop — about — let me see — well, about 
six — no, five days from now. " He always has the air of 
accurate calculation, of guarded and judicial statement; he 
is a Delphic oracle, able to prove himself an infallible prophet, 
whatever happens. 

He regards the giving of his vote as a personal favor to be 
returned by personal favors. A public official who distributes 
offices among his personal friends and relations, he considers 



436 APPENDIX. 

worthy of all commendation. " Why should n't a man stick 
by his friends — why should n't he help his family ? This 
method of dealing with the public service is an evidence of a 
noble and generous heart. " Family and friends are realities. 
The state, the country, the public ? These are mere " platform " 
words and are not real entities. 

The type of practical politician now under consideration is 
a " professional, " living for politics and living out of politics. 
He does much political work, but only on the qidd pro quo 
principle. " The laborer is worthy of his hire, " he says with 
great gusto, for he loves to defend his position by scriptural 
quotations. He must be "' recognized, " and he is eager to 
point out to the raw recruit also that for everything he does, 
he must be " recognized. " He loves to go to some young 
patriot burning with devotion to his state or his city, who has 
swept the corrupt element of a convention like chaff before the 
Sirocco-like wind of his scorching invective, and whisper to 
him that the reform nominee is bound to give him such and 
such a place, " because you made his nomination possible. " 

But with all his faults, his follies, his amusing characteris- 
tics, it must be remembered that he is a constant force. He 
never lets anything go by default. He is, indeed, a machine, 
tireless, fearless, conscienceless, and remorseless — at least in 
his own sphere of action. 

He insists upon the unreality of things. A is popular and 
always commands applause. To make B " popular, " all that 
is necessary is to furnish the applause. C never seeks an office ; 
the office seeks him. D can be put in the same class as C ; 
a petition of a hundred, a thousand, names can be got at a 
very small figure and with very little labor. But the " prac- 
tical politician " seldom or never deceives the public by these 
ingenious but shallow devices. It is easy to distinguish the 
true from the false, the diamond from the paste. 

Again, our politician places much dependence upon money. 
He assumes a cold, practical air. A great idea is mentioned 
to him, a plan which will really call a sluggish people to arms; 
but he says coldly and cynically, " Yes, but where 's the 
money ? " And many men who have started in politics with 
an idea, with a sentiment, with an inspiration, being beaten 



APPENDIX. 437 

down, have become doubly and more the advocates of Mammon. 
The new doctrine is so practical, they become really ashamed 
of their ideals ; they go to the farthest extreme of the meanest 
and basest practical politics, and actually seek to hide the 
early and noble ideals which their young manhood cherished. 

The practical politician firmly believes that the sole measure 
of a man's fitness for an office is the ability to get it. Compe- 
tency, education, experience, honesty, are merely " platform " 
words, — strong, but of no real significance. In fact, the less 
ability the candidate has for a place the more ability he dis- 
plays in securing it. " He has a right to aspire, — it is an 
honorable ambition, — and he isn't ashamed to say what he 
wants and to set his friends to work. " This is the language 
of the so-called practical politician. He admires nothing so 
much as the brutal frankness of a selfish, sordid creature, 
whose stupidity makes him proud of his infamy. 

Of course there is a very different stripe of " practical poli- 
ticians. " There are men of conscience, intelligence, and patri- 
otic purpose. They have made their influence felt in many 
ways, — chiefly in local or municipal politics, where, in fact, 
the widest field is open to their efforts. These are men who 
believe that the grandest " recognition " their devoted labors 
can receive is in the strengthening and purifying of the body 
politic, in honest and economic modes of administration ; in 
extending public benefits to the whole public, and diffusing 
the blessings of good government, as the Almighty diffuses the 
sunshine, over each and all alike. 

Politics so often deal with ignoble things, — things of the 
earth, " earthy ; " things of the pocket, of the sewer, of the 
gutter ; with disagreeable people, disagreeable places. Patient 
labor, self-denial, sacrifice are needed. Comfort, pleasure, 
luxuries, necessities must be given up to insure success. 
Eebuffs, insults, calumny, ridicule, defeat, and disaster must 
be met and overcome. This is the environment, these the 
factors, which confront the earnest patriotic man. 

The prospect herein outlined is not encouraging. No 
wonder that young men of refinement, of ambition, of honesty, 
of aspiration, glowing with patriotic purpose, eager to serve 
their fellowmen, shrink from the herculean task confronting 



438 APPENDIX. 

them here. But this is the place, and here are the materials, 
where and with which great souls have labored and have been 
victorious. Liberty, justice, equality, education, and progress 
in every direction have been set free from just such elements as 
these, or worse than these, and have emerged shapes of glory and 
strensth to gladden and comfort mankind. And even now the 
strong soul can find his loveliest Ideal imprisoned somewhere 
in this sordid Actual. Thomas Carlyle, in his grim eloquent 
way, says, in " Sartor Resartus, " Book II. , Chapter IX. : — 

" Yes, here in this poor, miserable, hampered, despicable 
Actual, wherein thou even now standest, here or nowhere is 
thy Ideal. Work it out therefrom, and, working, believe, 
live, be free. Fool ! the Ideal is in thyself, the impediment, 
too, is in thyself ; thy Condition is but the stuff thou art to 
shape that same Ideal out of. What matters whether such 
stuff be of this sort or that, so the Form thou give it be heroic, 
be poetic ? O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the 
Actual, and criest bitterly to the Gods for a Kingdom wherein 
to rule and create, know this of a truth : the thing thou seek- 
est is already with thee, here or nowhere, couldst thou only 
see ! " 

Truer or more inspiring words than these were never written. 
Out of the mud, the uncleanness, the dishonors, of the Actual 
and the practical, it is permitted to the true man, to the 
patriot and hero of this practical age, to mould the grandest 
Ideals into realities, living, breathing, working for good. 
But the heroic, patriotic spirit is indispensable. No dilettante 
devotion, no narrow selfish ambition, will have the power to 
effect these magic results. 

Now, while it is necessary to be right — in order to com- 
mand success — it is not enough to he right. Having deter- 
mined on what is right, in a given case, you cannot send out 
your purpose like a stray child to be abused, deceived, and 
beaten ; a strong, well-equipped escort must accompany and 
guard that purpose, able to deal with friends and foes, to pro- 
tect in every way the interests of their charge. How to launch 
a noble purpose at the right time, to provision it, to equip it, 
so that it may meet the storms which are sure to come, is the 
true study of the true and honest practical politician. He 



APPENDIX. 439 

must be wise as the serpent, and harmless as the dove to the 
State. 

Tact in an honest cause is almost as valuable as virtue. 
Knowledge of men is as necessary to a good man as to a bad 
one. Too often the reformer imitates the example of Mr. 
Tupman, who, when Mr. Pickwick broke through the ice, 
rushed across the fields shouting " Fire, " leaving Mr. Pickwick 
to his fate. 

Can a politician be pure and practical ? Yes. Must he be 
visionary in order to be virtuous ? Emphatically, no. Truth 
and justice need less management than falsehood and injus- 
tice. But intelligent, well-disciplined forces are necessary 
even to the cause of truth and justice. Prospero must ever be 
on the alert even if Caliban is his only enemy. 

Why does an honest, patriotic man take office ? Office 
seldom enriches the honest patriotic man. A list of the lead- 
ing American public men to-day will establish this fact. 
Most of them are lucky if they have a competency, or indeed 
escape bankruptcy. One of the moving causes, then, must 
be " that last infirmity of noble minds," ambition, the love of 
fame, of popular applause, — in short, of glory. But is there 
not blended with this motive, in many cases, a passionate 
love of country, an intense longing innate in great souls 

" To scatter blessings o'er a smiling land, 
And read their history in a nation's eyes " ? 

The sense of power exercised by a great man for the welfare of 
his country, of his fellow-men, must make him feel as nearly 
divine as anything can. 

The ordinary practical office-holder is not borne up by any 
of these visions of glory. The reward of faithful and patient 
service is the respect and affection of those who come in 
contact with him, and he consoles himself by reflecting that 
even if he has only been charged to drive a nail into the tim- 
bers or to calk the seams of the ship of state, these simple 
services are telling their honest story every day that the 
majestic fabric floats. 

Men must make a living, too, and men of wonderful ability 
can be found in just such subordinate stations who can accom- 



440 APPENDIX. 

plisli great results when directed by others, but who are weak 
aud inefficient when acting for themselves. 

The conclusion of the whole matter, then, is that high and 
noble aims must be supplemented by careful, patient, intelli- 
gent labor, — by unselfish courage and fidelity. And the people 
themselves must regard public service more justly, if not more 
charitably, than they seem to do at present. The outlook is 
encouraging; a better, nobler, more patriotic spirit is abroad 
in the country ; men are finding that they must not censure, 
but act, — that they themselves are largely responsible for 
what they condemn, — and upon the whole, I believe, we are 
approaching a new and better era of " practical politics. " 

Frederic T. Greenhalge. 



INDEX. 



Abbott, Capt. Henry Livermore, 87. 

Abbott, Judge J. G., letter to Green- 
halgefrom, 87, 115. 

Abiugtou Street Railway Company, 
the, 327. 

Acton, 122. 

Adams, Charles Francis, 326. 

Adams, John, 97, 102, 282. 

Admetus. 149. 

Administrative Custom Bill, the, 239. 

-^schylus, 102, 343. 

Afro-American, the, 223. 

Agamenticus, Mount, 47, 57, 58, 137. 

Aiken, John, 10. 

Alabama, 224. 

Aldrich, Dr., 315. 

Aldrich, Judge, compliment to Green- 
halge, 83. 

Alger, E. A., 51. 

Alger, General, 244. 

AUen, Hon. Charles H., 173, 174, 175; 
nominated for Governor of Massa- 
chusetts, 235. 

All Souls' Church, Washington, 234. 

Altoona, the conference at, 431. 

America, her favorites spring from the 
people, 8 ; advantages over England, 
1 1 ; seats of the mighty filled by law- 
yers in, 83 ; liberty in, 93 ; factory 
system in, 108. 

American Bell Telephone Bill, the, ve- 
toed by Governor Greenhalge, 303. 

American Protective Association, the, 
344 ; opposes Greenhalge, 356. 

Amherst College, 128. 

Andre', Major, 307. 

Andrew, Mr., 231. 

Andrew, Governor John A., 47, 273, 
342, 



Andromeda, 93. 

Angelo, Michael, 107. 

Ann, Cape, 57. 

Antietam, 99. 

Anti-Lottery Bill, the, 239. 

Antinomian dissension, the, 308. 

Anti-Trust Bill, the, 239. 

Antony, 12, 68. 

Apollo, 149. 

Appleton, Capt. Nathan, 27. 

Appomattox, 113, 155, 277. 

Aristides, 102. 

Aristotle, 60, 165. 

Arkansas, 209, 210. 

Armada of Spain, the, 309. 

Armenians, the. Governor Greenhalge 
speaks in behalf of, 374. 

Arnett, Mr., 205. 

Arthur, Chester A., 167. 

Ashworth, John, early teacher of Green- 
halge, 10. 

Athens, 348. 

Atkinson vs. Pendleton, 200. 

Atlanta, 254, 323, 364. 

Atlanta Exposition, the, 368. 

Attica, 139, 281. 

Augustine, 120. 

Austin, Farmer, 58. 

Austin, Mr., 10. 



Bachelor, Mr., 189. 

Bacon, Francis, 323. 

Bacon, Judge, 1 74. 

Bailey, Governor Greenhalge refuses to 

pardon, 326-333. 
Baker, George F., 127. 
Baker, Mary J., 127. 
Ball, Mr., 116. 



442 



INDEX. 



Baltimore, 94, 113, 276. 

"Baltimore Suu," the, 195. 

Balzac, Honore, 67. 

Bauks, Geueral, 115, 184. 

Barker, Mr., 138. 

" Barn Oration," Greenhalge's famous, 
28. 

Barrett, ISIr., 124. 

Bartlett, Mr., Homer, 23, 116. 

Beaconslleld, Lord, 50, 165. 

Beard, Rev. Ithamar W., viii, 27 ; let- 
ters from Greenhalge to, 35, 36, 58, 
60 ; Greenhalge at college, 49-64. 

Beaumont, 53. 

Belgium, 180. 

Bellingliam, Richard, 308. 

Bell Telephone Bill, the, vetoed by Gov- 
ernor Greenhalge, 300. 

Bell Telephone Cases, the, 129. 

Belvidere, the suburb of, 14, 54. 

Bering Sea, 230. 

Biennial Election, Greenhalge supports 
the bill in favor of, 169. 

Bismarck, 58, 137. 

"Blackwood Review," the, 17. 

Blaine, James G., nominated for Presi- 
dent, 166, 167; 265. 

Blair, Robert, 56. 

Blanchard, Rev. Mr., 115. 

Bland, Mr., of Missouri, 194. 

" Blessed are They that Mourn," poem 
written by Greenhalge, 72. 

Bolingbroke, 180. 

Bolton, England, 7. 

Bonney, 115. 

Booth, Gen. William, 352. 

Boott, Kirk, the incarnation of execu- 
tive ability, 109, 116. 

Borden, Colonel, 315. 

Boston, city of, William Greenhalgh 
lands in, 13 ; his fondness for, 17, 18; 
memorial service given in honor of 
General Butler by, 126; Governor 
Greenhalge signs new charter for, 
.336. 

"Boston Advertiser," the, 170, 172. 

Boston Bay, 95. 

Boston Druggists' Association, the. Gov- 
ernor Greenhalge's last public utter- 
ance before, 380. 

Boston Elevated Railroad Company, 
the, 306. 

" Boston Globe," the, 246, 247. 



" Boston Herald," the, 170, 241, 245, 248, 
250, 302. 

" Boston Journal," the, 295. 

Boston Public Garden, the, 333. 

Boston Subway, the work inaugurated 
by Governor Greenhalge, 333. 

"Boston Transcript," the, 328, 341. 

Bowers, Jonathan, 41, 42, 45. 

" Boys in Blue," the, in Lowell, Green- 
halge addresses, 177. 

Brackett, J. Q. A., 179; nominated for 
Governor of Massachusetts, 179. 

Bradford, Governor, of Plymouth, 308, 
309, 313, 322. 

Bradley, Governor, of Kentucky, 372. 

Bragg, Gen. Braxton, 363, 366. 

Brandlesome Hall, 7. 

Braxton Court House, 206. 

Brazil, 123. 

Breckinridge, Mr., of Arkansas, 209. 

Breckinridge, Hon. N. C. P., of Ken- 
tucky, 234. 

Breckinridge-Clayton contest, the, 259. 

Brewster, William, 322. 

Brice, 229, 243. 

Bridgewater, 354. 

Bristow, Benjamin, 166. 

Bristow Club of Lowell, the, 166. 

British Isles, the. 111. 

British Provinces, the, 111. 

Britton, William, 199. 

Bronte', Charlotte, 18. 

Brooklyn, 321. 

Brooks, assaults Charles Sumner, 154. 

Brooks, Phillips, 60. 

Brown, Governor, of Rhode Island, 295. 

Brown, A. R., 51. 

Brown, John, 27. 

Brown, John F., 315. 

Brown & Alger, 37. 

Browne, Sir Thomas, 67, 345, 356. 

Brownell, "Governor," 116. 

Browning, Robert, 50. 

Bryant, Seth, 355. 

Buckalew, Mr., of Pennsylvania, 219, 
220. 

Buckle, the philosopher, 53, 107. 

Bull Run, battle of, 94. 

Bunker Hill, 123, 179, 253; Masonic 
celebration in commemoration of Gen. 
Joseph Warren at, 343 ; 363, 370. 

Burbank, Mr., appointed postmaster at 
Lowell, 235. 



INDEX. 



443 



Burke, 78,140, 141. 

Buruley, Lancashire, 9. 

Burnside, General, 363, 365. 

Burr, Aaron, 427. 

Bury, England, 7. 

Butler, Gen. B. F., 46, 113, 115 ; memo- 
rial service given by the city of Boston 
in honor of, 126; Greenhalge's ora- 
tion, 126, 127 ; 139. 

Buttrick, Dr. Abner Wheeler, 124, 139. 

Buttrick, Frederick, 41. 

Buxton, Mr., 45. 



C^SAR, 12, 65, 68, 75, 128, 228, 229, 

313, 342. 
California, 365. 
Cambridge, 231,368,369. 
Campbell, 56. 
Campo Santo, the, 299. 
Canadian France, 111. 
"Canal Walk," the. 111. 
Cardwell, 15. 
Carey, J. F., 314. 
Carlyle, Thomas, 83, 438. 
Carnatic, the, plains of, 140. 
Carney Medal, the, won by Greenhalge, 

27. 
Carolinas, the, 365. 

Casson, Herbert N., 284 ; presents a peti- 
tion from the unemployed to Governor 
Greenhalge, 284-290. 
Gate, Featherstone vs., 209. 
Cathedrals, the great, of the Old World, 

119. 
Catholic Union, the, Greenhalge speaks 
on " Government by the People " 
before, 173. 
Central Club, the, 46. 
Chadwick, 139. 
Chalgrove Field, 297, 363. 
Chancellorsville, battle of, 94 ; 164. 
Channing Fraternity Dramatic Club, 

the, 46. 
Chapman, Mr., 53. 
Charles I., 307. 
Charles River, the, 369. 
Chase, Mr., principal of the Lowell 

High School, 14. 
Chatham, Lord, 14, 37. 
Chattanooga, 362, 363, 366, 367. 
Chelmsford, Greenhalge teaches school 
at, 34, 52. 



Chickamauga, 362, 365, 366. 
Choate, Rufus, 84, 86, 115. 
Chocorua, 119. 
" Christianity, Practical," Governor 

Greenhalge's speech upon, 125. 
Cicero, 68. 

" Citizen and Thanksgiving," the, Gov- 
ernor Greenhalge's address on, 347. 
"City and my Country Home," the, 
sonnet written by Governor Green- 
halge, 71. 
City Institution for Savings, the, 46. 
Civil Service Bill, the, 232. 
Civil Service Reform, Greenhalge de- 
voted to the ideas of, 154, 225, 
Clarke, Mr., of Alabama, 224. 
Clarke, Threet vs., 224. 
Clay, Henry, 267, 373. 
Clayton, 167. 

Clayton-Breckinridge contest, the, 259. 
Cleaves, Governor, of Maine, 295. 
Cleveland, Grover, elected President, 

165; 207, 232,240, 242,246. 
Clinton, 307. 

Clitheroe (Lancashire), England, birth- 
place of Greenhalge, 5 ; loveliness of, 
6; birthplace of William Greenhalgh, 
9; 15, 16. 
Clodius, 146. 

Coburn, Harriet Nesmith, 69. 
Coffin, Charles Carleton, 138. 
Cogswell, Gen. William, 231, 245, 315, 

317, 365. 
Cologne, 119. 
Colorado, 323. 
" Columbus," poem by James Russell 

Lowell, 74. 
Company of Massachusetts Bay, the, 

309. 
Compton, 215. 
Conant, Roger, 309. 
Concord, Mass., 24, 87 ; Greenhalge de- 
livers the Memorial Day address at, 
98, 105; 113, 122, 125, 235; first 
celebration of Patriots' Day at, 295 ; 
370. 
Concord Bridge, 97. 
Concord River, 14, 163. 
Congress, Governor Greenhalge's speech 

in, 79-82. 
Connecticut, 309. 

Constitution of the United States, the, 
133.137. 



444 



INDEX. 



Cooper, Mr., of Ohio, 195. 

Corporations, Governor Greenhalge's 
opinions regarding, 279, 377. 

Correggio, 180. 

Cortez, 5. 

Cothran, Mr., of South Carolina, 226. 

Courtney, Mayor, of Lowell, presents 
the bust of Governor Greenhalge to 
the State, 380. 

Coxey's Army, 283. 

Craigie House, the, in Cambridge, 368. 

Crisp, Mr., of Georgia, 192, 195, 197, 
203, 214, 241, 243. 

Crittenden, County of, 210. 

Crocker, Mr., Cliairman of the Transit 
Commission of Boston, 333. 

Croker, Richard, 229. 

Cromwell, Oliver, 5, 146, 308, 309. 

CuUeu, Israel, 199. 

Curtiu, Jeremiah, 27, 231. 

Curtis, Mr., 167, 241; the only sur- 
vivor of the true Mugwump, 242. 

Curtis, Charles P., 326. 

Curtis, Charles P., Jr., 315. 



Dalton, Adjutant-General, 288. 

Dalzell, Mr., of Pennsylvania, 196. 

Damascus, 120. 

Damien, Father, 139. 

"Dangerous Tendencies of the Times," 
the, Greenhalge's speech on, 129. 

Dante, 53. 

Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion, the, 372. 

Davis, 124. 

Davis, John, 52, 59. 

Dawes, Senator, 245. 

Debating-clubs, 26. 

Declaration of Independence, the, 132, 
219. 

Delos, the treasure of, 139. 

Deming, Judge, 122. 

"Democratic Situation," the, Green- 
halge's editorial on, 239. 

Demosthenes, 140, 180. 

Dennett, Jack, 51. 

"Dependant's Story," the, short story 
by Greenhalge, 26. 

De Quincey, Thomas, 17, 210. 

Derby, Earl of, 6 ; in the battles of 
Wigan and Worcester, 7 ; perishes 
on the scaffold, 7. 



Detroit, 244. 

Dewey, M. D. K., 314. 

Dickens, Charles, 17. 

Diggs, John, 193. 

Direct Tax Bill, the, 239. 

Disraeli, 48, 158, 165. 

Dodson, Anne, marriage to Thomas 

Greenhalgh, 9. 
Douglas, W. L., 137. 
Dover, N. H., viii. 
Dover Neck, 58. 
Dracut Bridge, 16. 
Dracut Heights, 115. 
Draper, William F., a candidate for 

Governor of Massachusetts, 177. 
Dudley, 229, 241. 
Dudley, Deputy-Governor, 308. 
Dunstable, 231. 



Earnshaw, Judge, 201, 202, 203, 204, 
207. 

Earnshaw, Mrs., 202. 

Eastman, Mary, 116. 

Edenfield, William Greenhalgh moves 
to, 10 ; an ideal English village, 
10. 

Edge, Major, 7. 

"Edinburgh Review," the, 17. 

Edmunds, 166, 167. 

Edson, Theodore, 115, 116. 

Education, Governor Greenhalge's opin- 
ions concerning, 276. 

Eliot, Charles W., 228. 

Eliot, Sir John, 309. 

Elizabeth, Cape, 57. 

Elkins, 241. 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 192, 298. 

Emmet, Robert, 112. 

Endicott, John, 308, 309. 

England, a charming home, 1 ; advan- 
tages of America over, 11 ; the centre 
of Europe, 1 9 ; ruled by lawyers, 83 ; 
factory system in, 108. 

Enloe, Mr., 81. 

Eshton, William Greenhalgh moves to, 
10. 

Eton, 27, 277. 

Evans, Wilmot, 326. 

Everett, Edward, 84, 86, 128, 141. 

Everett. William, 228. 

Evesham, 363. 

Ewart, Mr., of North Carolina, 223, 



INDEX. 



445 



Faieciiild, Ex-Secretary, 27. 

" Fallen Leaves," poem written by Gov- 
ernor Greeuhalge, 73. 

Fall River, 180, 335. 

"Fall River News," the, 171. 

Faneuil Hall, 374. 

Farmers' Alliance, the, 240. 

Fassett. 244. 

Fast Day, abolished by Governor Greeu- 
halge, 295. 

Featherstone vs. Gate, 209. 

Federal Election Bill, the, 185, 200; 
Greeuhalge's speech on, 216-224. 

"Federalist," the, 221. 

Feltou, President, 28. 

Fifth Street Church, in Lowell, 128. 

Fifty-first Congress, the, 181 ; outline 
of the task that lay before, 184. 

First Congregational Church, the, in 
Lowell, 347. 

First Presbyterian Church at Newbury- 
port, 130. 

Fiske, Mr., principal of the North 
Grammar School, in Lowell, 14, 20. 

Fiske, Prof. John, 27, 51, 306. 

Fletcher, 53. 

Florence, 107. 

Foot-ball, the, burial of, at Harvard, 29. 

Forbes, Archibald, 133. 

" Force Act," the, 430. 

Fortinbras, 157. 

iowler, Mr., 195, 243. 

Fox, 65, 78. 

France, governed by briefless barristers, 
83 ; equality during the Revolution 
in, 92, 180. 

Francis, James B , 139. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 102. 

Frederick the Great, 65. 

Fredericksburg, battle of, 94. 

Freedom, the genius of, 92 ; fair but 
inexorable, 95. 

Freeman, J. J., 326. 

Fremont, John C, 23. 

French, the, volatile nature of, 165. 

French Academy, the, 66. 

French Spoliation Claims, the, 239. 

Froude, 165. 

Fuller, Governor, of Vermont, 295. 

Fuller, Perez, 116. 

Galilee, the shores of, 120. 
Galveston, 365. 



Garfield, President James A., Green- 
halge's tribute to, 162. 

Garfield Club of Pawtucket, the, Green- 
halge addresses, 179. 

Garibaldi, 112. 

Garrison, William Lloyd, unveiling at 
Newburyport of the statue of, 129; 
Greeuhalge's eulogy, 129-135; first 
in the great line of protagonists in 
the cause of human freedom, 134. 

Gaskill, F. A., 326. 

Gaston, Ex-Governor, 381. 

George, Lake, Greeuhalge's sonnet on, 
71. 

Georgia, 192, 195. 

Germany, 102, 111, 180. 

Gettysburg, 94, 104, 215, 277. 

Gibbons, Cardinal, 346. 

Gillette, Hon. Frederic H., 316, 357. 

Gladstone, William E., 137. 

Godkin, Mr., 241. 

Good citizenship. Governor Greeu- 
halge's opinions on, 378, 

Goodwin, 116. 

Gordon, John B., 370. 

Gorman, 229, 241, 243. 

Gould, Lincoln «& Co., 17. 

"Government by the People," Greeu- 
halge's address on, 1 73. 

" Governors, A Conference of New- 
England," article written by Green- 
halge on, 427-433. 

Governor's Garden, the, 313. 

Grand Army of the Republic, the, 99, 
125; Mayor Greeuhalge delivers the 
Decoration Day address before, 163; 
Greeuhalge's address in Jlusic Hall 
in Boston before, 281. 

Grant, Mayor, 229. 

Grant, U. S., 76, 94, 152 ; quarrels with 
Charles Sumner, 153; his second 
nomination for the Presidency, 154; 
his financial ruin, 154 ; 233, 365, 
366. 

Grattan, 112. 

Great Bay, 58. 

Great Britain, 180. 

Greeley, Horace, 152, 153; bolts the 
second nomination of Grant, 154. 

Greeuhalge, Frederick Brandlesome, 
48. 

Greeuhalge, Governor Frederic Thomas, 
his character and career equal to 



446 



INDEX. 



each other, vii ; his life a suggestive 
one, viii ; broadness of his life, viii ; 
his a broken life judged by promise 
of the future, 4 ; his was the sun of 
Austerlitz, 4 ; grew up a true Ameri- 
can, 4 ; birth of, 5 ; transplanted to 
America, 5 ; fortunate in both his 
parents, 6 ; changes the spelling of 
his name, 6 ; prominence of his family 
name, 7 ; " prudent and valiant, and 
fitted to be trusted," 7 ; raised him- 
self to his high position, 8 ; sin- 
gularly free from prejudices, 8 ; 
natural reserve in his character, 8 ; 
born to be a great tribune of the 
people, 8 ; his lack of interest in his 
ancestry, 9 ; respect and admiration 
for his father, 9 ; taste for literature, 
9 ; ancestors of, 9 ; becomes the sole 
male representative of his family, 
9 ; early life at Eshton and Edeufield, 
10; early school-days, 10; sails for 
America, 11 ; an American among 
Americans, 11 ; lands in Boston, 

13 ; settles in Lowell, 13 ; school-life 
at Lowell, 14 ; precocious as a youth, 

14 ; striking talents of, 14 ; his vein 
of poetic sensibility and slight melan- 
choly, 15 ; an artist in disposition, 15 ; 
a master in the art of speaking, 

15 ; his father's plans for, 18; in the 
Lowell High School, 18; admitted 
to Harvard, 18 ; in the North Gram- 
mar School, 19 ; early diary of, 20- 
25 ; phrenological examination of, 
25 ; literary exercises of, 26 ; enters 
Harvard College, 27 ; wins the first 
Carney Medal, 27 ; not especially de- 
voted to athletic sports, 27 ; rises to 
distinction in the Institute of 1770, 
27 ; his classmates at Harvard, 27 ; 
obliged to leave college, 27 ; receives 
his degree, 27 ; his famous " barn 
oration," 28 ; the burial of the foot- 
ball at Harvard, 28 ; his college life, 
32; death of his father, 33; his life 
as a schoolmaster, 34 ; in the War 
of the Rebellion, 34 ; seized by mala- 
ria, 35 ; letters to L W. Beard, 35, 
36, 58-64 ; resumes his law studies in 
Lowell, 37 ; cynicism foreign to his 
nature, 37 ; his wit and humor, 40 ; 
possessed all the elements of a suc- 



cessful actor, 41 ; his striking coun- 
tenance, 41 ; his love of nature, 41 ; 
his later diary, 42-45, 62-64 ; inter- 
ested in private theatricals, 46 ; had 
few business affiliations, 46 ; his social 
organizations, 46 ; his home, 46, 48 ; 
his simple tastes, 47 ; his marriage, 
47 ; children of, 48 ; felicity of his 
married life, 48 ; a good hater, 49 ; 
animated conversation of, 49 ; Rev. 
Mr. Beard's account of him at college, 
49, 62 ; a man of a manifest destiny, 
50 ; engaged in a bolt-shop, 52 ; his 
literary acumen and acquirements, 56 ; 
his " Dover days," 58 ; his church re- 
lations, 60 ; versatile mind of, 65 ; dra- 
matic element in his character, 65 ; 
a born orator, 65 ; a close student of 
the best in literature, 65, 66 ; more 
than a lover of literature, 67 ; as a 
poet, 68-75 ; selections from his 
poems, 69-75 ; admitted to the Bar, 
77 ; love of his profession, 77 ; suc- 
cess of his oratory, 78; distinguish- 
ing qualities of his oratory, 78 ; an im- 
practical speaker, 78 ; his alertness and 
readiness of speech, 79 ; possessed the 
courage of his convictions, 79 ; speech 
in Congress in defence of Massachu- 
setts, 79-82 ; his legal career a worthy 
object of emulation, 83 ; tribute from 
Judge Aldrich to, 83 ; letters from 
Senator Hoar to, 84-86 ; letter 
from Judge Abbott, 87 ; his manner 
of preparing his speeches, 87 ; belongs 
to the glorious galaxy of Massachu- 
setts orators, 88 ; Judge Sheldon 
writes a character sketch of him as 
a lawyer, 88, 89 ; his speech in the 
Old South Church in 1877, 91 ; de- 
livers Fourth of July oration at 
Lowell, 91-98 ; his address on Me- 
morial Day at Concord, Mass., 98- 
105 ; the orator at the Semi-Centen- 
nial of Lowell, 105-117; his address 
at the dedication of the Unitarian 
Headquarters at The Weirs, 118-121 ; 
his speech delivered at the celebra- 
tion of the one hundred and fifteenth 
anniversary of the Battle of Lexing- 
ton, 121-125; speaks before the Uni- 
tarian Club of Lowell, 125; his 
oration on General Butler, 126, 127 ; 



INDEX. 



447 



his argument in the Groton Murder 
Case, 127, 128; his voice always 
lifted in the cause of humanity, 1 28 ; 
list of occasional speeches, 128, 129; 
engaged as counsel in the Bell Tele- 
phone cases, 129; his eulogy on 
William Lloyd Garrison, 129-135 ; 
his speech before the Press Club of 
Lowell, 135-140 ; tribute to Lincoln, 
140 ; critical estimate of his oratory, 
140; his political career, 145; a 
worthy leader, 147 ; his ambitions, 
149-152; his first public office, 151 ; 
political hostility to, 152; votes for 
Greeley instead of Grant, 152, 153; 
always a civil-service reformer, 154, 
225 ; nominated for State Senate by 
the Democrats, 155 ; his return to the 
Republican party, 155 ; his confidence 
in the common people, 155 ; beginning 
of his brilliant work upon the political 
stump, 156 ; a man marked for politi- 
cal preferment, 157; elected to the 
Common Couucil of Lowell, 157; a 
member of the Lowell School Board, 
157; elected Mayor of Lowell, 157; 
his influence early felt in local politics, 
158; his popularity as Mayor of 
Lowell, 1 59 ; his career as Mayor of 
Lowell, 160, 161 ; his tribute to Presi- 
dent Garfield, 162; his speech on 
Decoration Day before the Grand 
Army of the Republic, 1 63 ; his speech 
at the Y. M. C. A. Trade Reception, 
1 64 ; the necessity of character a basic 
principle with, 165 ; always joined 
himself with the best element in his 
party, 166 ; a delegate to the Chicago 
Convention in 1884, 166, 167; show 
and pretence always odious to, 168; 
elected to the Massachusetts House of 
Representatives, 169; fails to be re- 
elected, 1 70 ; newspaper tributes to, 
1 70 ; speaks before the Middlesex 
Club in Boston, 172; speaks before 
the Catholic Union, 173; his name 
mentioned for many prominent posi- 
tions, 172-174; delivers address be- 
fore the Melrose Republican Club, 
174 ; urged to run for Congress, 175 ; 
his reply, 176; nominated by accla- 
mation for Congress, 177 ; addresses 
the Boys in Blue in Lowell, 177; 



elected to Congress, 178; several 
speeches of note, 179; the power of 
his oratory, 180; in Congress, 181; 
his committees, 184; his prominence 
in debate, 186; moves his family to 
Washington, 187 ; his letters home, 
188-190; his speeches in Congress, 
190-226; on Smith vs. Jackson, 191- 
200 ; on Atkinson vs. Pendleton, 200- 
208 ; on Featherstone vs. Gate, 209, 
210; ou Waddill vs. Wise, 210-216; 
on the Federal Election Bill, 216-224; 
on the Tariff Bill, 224 ; his return to 
Lowell, 226 ; enters the campaign 
against the Mugwumps, 227 ; renom- 
inated for Congress, 230 ; his defeat, 
230 ; returns to Washington, 232 ; his 
later speeches in Congress, 232 ; trib- 
utes to his work in Congress, 233 ; 
leaves Washington without personal 
regret, 234 ; his address before the 
Humane Society, 234 ; regarded by 
Democrats as an extreme partisan, 
234 ; " the most dangerous man on 
the Republican side," 235 ; not an 
extreme partisan, 235 ; his name con- 
sidered as a candidate for Governor 
of Massachusetts, 235; his editorial 
on " The Democratic Situation," 239- 
243 ; on the attempt to abolish the 
Governor's Council, 244 ; his speech 
before the Michigan Republican Club, 
244; declines a renomination to Con- 
gress, 245 ; prominently mentioned 
for the United States Senate, 245 ; 
consents to the use of his name as a 
candidate for Governor of Massachu- 
setts, 246 ; nominated for Governor 
by A. E. Pillsbury, 251 ; his speech of 
acceptance, 252-254 ; his reception at 
Lowell, 255 ; T. B. Reed's tribute to, 
255 ; his campaign speeches, 255 ; 
elected Governor, 258 ; his speech at 
Taunton, 258-268 ; demonstration at 
Lowell in honor of, 268 ; his speech, 
269 ; at the summit of his career, 270 ; 
Judge Lawton's estimate of the char- 
acter of, 271 ; his inauguration as Gov- 
ernor, 275 ; his inaugural address, 276; 
his address before the Grand Army of 
the Republic in Music Hall, Bostim, 
281 ; receives a delegation from the 
unemployed, 284-290 ; their petition, 



448 



INDEX. 



284, 285; his address before the 
Underwriters' Association, 292 ; pre- 
sents the petition of the unemployed 
to the Legislature, 294 ; his desire to 
call a conference of the Republican 
Governors of the New England States, 
295 ; abolishes Fast Day and estab- 
lishes Patriots' Day, 295 ; his speech 
at the first celebration of Patriots' 
Day at Concord, 296-299 ; reception 
given by the working-people to, 299 ; 
his vetoes to the Legislature, 299-305 ; 
his idea of an ideal vacation, 305 ; his 
lecture on John Winthrop, 300-314; 
his appointments to office, 314,315; 
renominated for Governor, 316; his 
address of acceptance, 317 ; re-elected 
Governor, 319 ; his tribute to Wolcott, 
319 ; his Thanksgiving Proclamation, 
1 894, 320 ; his speech on Forefathers' 
Day in Brooklyn, 321 ; list of his en- 
gagements during his first term of 
office, 324 ; his second inauguration 
as Governor, 325 ; his second inaugu- 
ral address, 325 ; his appointments for 
his second term, 326 ; refuses to par- 
don Sanborn and Bailey, 326-333 ; 
his second-term vetoes, 333-342 ; in- 
augurates the work of the Boston 
Subway, 333 ; signs bill giving new 
charter to the city of Boston, 336 ; 
his speech at the Masonic celebration 
at Bunker Hill in commemoration of 
Gen. Joseph Warren, 343 ; his reli- 
gious breadth, 344 ; his speech at 
Archbishop Williams' Jubilee, 345 ; 
his address on " The Citizen and 
Thanksgiving," 347 ; his address be- 
fore the Salvation Army, 352 ; his 
speeches at agricultural fairs, 353 ; 
his lack of sympathy with the A. P. 
A., 356 ; nominated for his third term 
as Governor, 357 ; his speech of ac- 
ceptance, 358-360 ; re-elected Gover- 
nor for a third term, 362 ; his dedi- 
catory speech at Chattanooga, 363 ; 
his oration on Massachusetts Day at 
the Atlanta Exposition, 368-372 ; his 
address on Kentucky Day at the At- 
lanta Exposition, 372, 373 ; speaks in 
behalf of the Armenians at Faneuil 
Hall, 374 ; his second Thanskgiving 
Proclamation, 374 ; his third inaugu- 



ration as Governor, 376 ; his last in- 
augural address, 376 ; his last pub- 
lic utterance, 380 ; bust executed of, 
380 ; attends the " Governor's Ball " 
at Springfield, 381 ; his last days, 381 ; 
his death, 382 ; the significance of his 
career, 383 ; last tribute of the State 
to, 383 ; conclusion, 384 ; his poems, 
386-424 ; his articles in the " North 
American Review," 427-440. 

Greenhalge, Mrs. Frederic Thomas, 
viii ; characteristics of, 48 ; children 
of, 48 ; felicity of her married life, 
48 ; 299. 

Greenhalge, Harriet, 48. 

Greenhalge, Nesmith, 48, 72. 

Greenhalge, Richard, 48. 

Greenhalgh, family of, name changed 
to Greenhalge from, 6 ; the name un- 
common in America, but well-known 
in Lancashire, 6 ; tombs in Parish 
Church, Bury, 7. 

Greenhalgh, Captain, 6. 

Greenhalgh, James, uncle of Governor 
Greenhalge, letters from William 
Greenhalgh to, 16-19. 

Greenhalgh, Capt. John, 7 ; governor 
of the Isle of Man, 7 ; in the battles 
of Wigan and Worcester, 7 ; death 
of , 7 ; a cavalier and royalist, 7 ; 
characteristics of, 7. 

Greenhalgh, Joseph, brother of Gover- 
nor Greenhalge, 15. 

Greenhalgh, Richard Assheton, 9. 

Greenhalgh, Thomas, grandfather of 
Governor Greenhalge, 9; his mar- 
riage to Anne Dodson, 9. 

Greenhalgh, Thomas, uncle of Governor 
Greenhalge, 10; becomes proprietor 
of an engraving establishment at 
Edenfield, 10 ; moves to Manchester, 
10. 

Greenhalgh, Thomas, of Brandlesome 
Hall, 7. 

Greenhalgh, Thomas, son of Governor 
John Greenhalgh, 7. 

Greenhalgh, William, father of Gover- 
nor Greenhalge, 5 ; settles in Lowell, 
5, 13; Greenhalge's respect and ad- 
miration for, 9 ; his aptitude for 
painting, 9 ; his taste for literature, 
9 ; birth of, 9 ; his marriage to 
Jane Slater, 9 ; in charge of the 



INDEX. 



449 



Primrose Print Works, 9 ; moves to 
Eshton, 10; moves to Edeufield, 10; 
becomes proprietor of an engraving 
establishment, 10; forms a literary 
society, 10; moves to Manchester, 
10; accepts a call to Lowell, 11; 
sails for America, U ; lauds in 
Boston, 13 ; begins work with the 
Merrimack Manufacturing Company, 
13; oratorical talent of, 15; his let- 
ters to friends in England, 16-19 ; his 
fondness for Boston, 17, 18 ; his plans 
for his son, 18; loss of work and 
death of, 33. 

Greenhalgh, Mrs, William, character- 
istics of, 13. 

Greenhalgh Castle, ruins of, 6. 

Green School, the, at Lowell, 158. 

Grinnell, C. E., 52, 59. 

Grote, 60. 

Groton Murder Case, the. Governor 
Greenhalge's argument in, 127, 128. 

Guild, Curtis, Jr., 315, 357. 

Gulf of Mexico, the, 220. 

Gustavus, 112. 



Hall, Department Commander, 282. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 267. 

Hamilton, " Single-Speech," 1 80. 

Hampden, John, 5, 112, 297, 363. 

Hannibal, 79. 

" Harper's Weekly," 241. 

Harris, Robert O., 327. 

Harrison, President Benjamin, 176, 
243, 282, 339. 

Hart, Thomas N., 248. 

Hartford Convention, the, 80, 428, 431. 

Hartz Mountains, the, 63, 104. 

Harvard College, Governor Greenhalge 
admitted to, 18; his life at, 27; haz- 
ing war at, 28 ; burial of the foot-ball 
at, 29; 174. 

Hastings, Warren, Governor Green- 
halge's memorable debate on, 27. 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 307. 

Healey, Joseph, 315. 

Hemmenway, Augustus, 326. 

Henry V., 157. 

Henry, John, of Montreal, 427. 

Hercules, 110. 

Hermes, 135. 

Hewitts, Mr., of HornclifE, 10. 



Higgins, 229. 

Higginson, Frank, 27. 

Higginson, Col. T. W., joint debate 

witli Greenhalge, 179. 
Highland Club, the, 46. 
Hill, Governor David B., 228, 229, 241, 

243, 320. 
Hinckley, Wallace, 20, 21, 22, 23. 
Hingham, 308, 311. 
History Club of Lowell, the, 128. 
Hoar, Senator George F., letters to 

Greenhalge from, 84-86; 167, 243, 

265, 341. 
Hobart, Peter, of Hingham, 308. 
Holland, Sir Henry, 17. 
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr., 51. 
Holy Cross College, 357. 
Holyoke, 334,361. 
Holyoke Police Bill, the, vetoed by 

Governor Greenhalge, 333. 
Homer, 78, 132. 

Hooker, Gen. Joseph, 364, 365, 366. 
Hopedale, 177. 
Horace, 78. 
Horncliff, 10. 
Howard, General, 366. 
Howe, 307. 
Howes, Osborn, 315. 
Huckleberry HiU, 58. 
Humane Society, the, 46 ; Greenhalge's 

address before, 234. 
Huntington Hall, 230, 254, 268. 
" Huntington Hall," poem by Governor 

Greenhalge, 26. 
Hyder Ali, 140. 

" Hymn," written by Governor Green- 
halge, 73. 



Idaho, State of, 185. 

Illinois, 196. 

Illinois troops, the, 34. 

Indiana, 282. 

Indian BiU, the, 188. 

Institute of 1770, the, at Harvard, 27; 
Governor Greenhalge rises to distinc- 
tion in, 27. 

International Copyright Bill, the, 185. 

Iowa, 215. 

Ireland, Archbishop, 346. 

"Ireland's Cause." Governor Green- 
halge's speech on, 129. 

Isle of Man, the, 7. 



29 



450 



INDEX. 



Iswell Vale, 10. 
Italy, 112. 

Jackson Hall, 177. 

Jackson, J. M., Smith vs., 191, 202, 233. 

Jackson, Patrick Tracy, 109. 

James, King, 313. 

Jason, 110. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 93, 96, 97, 102, 431. 

Jeffreys, 17. 

Jones, Paul, 94. 

Jones, yir William, 14. 

Jonson, Ben, 53. 

"Journalism and its Opportunities," 

Governor Greenhalge's address on, 

135-140. 

Kansas Aid Debating Club, the, 24. 

Kennebunkport, 46, 47, 57, 187. 

Kenny, Colonel, 333. 

Kentucky, 234 ; at the Atlanta Exposi- 
tion, 372. 

Khedive, 60. 

Kidd, Benjamin, 321. 

Kitsou, Samuel, executes a bust of Gov- 
ernor Greenhalge, 380. 

Knaseboro, Yorkshire, 9. 

Knoxville, 363. 

" Labor and Capital," Governor Green- 
halge's speech on, 129. 

Lacediemon, 132. 

Lacedaemonians, the, 163. 

Lacey, Mr., of Iowa, 212, 215. 

Lamson, Alfred, .53. 

Lancashire, 5 ; the great industrial 
county of England, 5 ; the Green- 
halgh name well known in, 6. 

Langston, Mr., of Virginia, 81. 

Larcom, Lucy, 116. 

La Salle, 112. 

Lawrence, 95, 114. 

Lawton, George Field, 315. 

Lawton, Judge, 41 ; on the ambitions of 
Greenhalge, 149-152; on Green- 
halge's bolt of the Republican party, 
15.3-156; on the accusation of parti- 
sanship brought against Greenhalge, 
235 ; on the characteristics of Gov- 
ernor Greenhalge, 271. 

Lawyers, hold prominent positions in 
every country, 83. 



Ledge Hill, 45. 

Lee, Mr., 314. 

Lee, Gen. Robert E., 94, 102. 

Lee, WiUiam, 195, 196, 199, 

Legislation, Governor Greenhalge's 
opinion on, 379. 

"Lessons of the Campaign," joint 
debate between Col. T. W. Higginson 
and Greenhalge on, 179. 

" Lessons of the Hour," the. Governor 
Greenhalge's speech on, 128. 

Leuctra, 122. 

Lewiston, 254. 

Lexington, Battle of, celebration of the 
one hundred and fifteenth anniver- 
sary of, 121-125. 

Lexington, Mass., 113, 122, 296, 299, 
370. 

Lilley, Judge, 83. 

Lincoln, Abraham, 50, 65, 76, 94 ; trib- 
utes of Governor Greenhalge to, 140, 
215, 223; 373. 

"Literary Quintette, Song of the," 
written by Governor Greenhalge, 55. 

Little, Brown & Co., 18. 

Liverpool, railroad between Manchester 
and, 109. 

Livingston, 114. 

Lodge, Senator Henry Cabot, 210, 217, 
232 ; tribute to Greenhalge's work in 
Congress, 233 ; 254, 265 ; renominates 
Greenhalge for Governor, 316. 

London, 139. 

Long, John D., 167; renominates^ 
Greenhalge for Governor, 357. 

" Long Embargo," the, 430. 

Longfellow, Henry W., 369. 

Longfellow House, the, in Cambridge, 
368. 

Longstreet, General, 366. 

Lookout Mountain, 364. 

Lord, J. B., 315. 

Louisiana, the purchase of, 430. 

Lowell, Mass., WiUiam Greenhalgh 
settles in, 5, 11, 13; largest manufac- 
turing city in America devoted to 
production of cotton cloth, 13 ; its 
mills and operatives, 13 ; beautiful 
situation of, 14; population of, 14; 
Greenhalge delivers Fourth of July 
oration in, 91-98; the Semi-Centen- 
nial of, 105-117; building of the first 
factory in, 106 ; the influences radi- 



INDEX. 



451 



ating from, 107 ; Lowell, Jackson, 
and Boott, 108-110; the first looms 
of, 110; growth of the city, 110, 111 
libraries of. 111 ; population of. 111 
in the War of the liebellion, 113 
lacks in local pride and ambition 
117 ; a "very democratic place," 150 
Greenhalge elected Mayor of, 157. 

Lowell Boat Club, the, 46. 

Lowell Brass Band, the, 23. 

"Lowell Citizen," the, 174. 

"Lowell Courier," the, 171. 

Lowell, Francis Cabot, tribute to, 108, 
109, 117. 

Lowell General Hospital, the, 46. 

Lowell High School, 14 ; Governor 
Greenhalge in, 18. 

Lowell, James Russell, 67, 74, 116. 

" Lowell Mail," the, 170, 172, 177. 

Lowell Music Hall, 46. 

Lowell Sixth Regiment, 94. 

" Lowell Sun," the, 244. 

"Lowell "Weekly Sun," the, 172. 

Lucullus, 322. 

Luther, Martin, 360. 

Lysias, orations of, 140. 



MACAULAT,Lord, 17,49, 60,96, 138,308. 

Maine, 295. 

Mammoth Road, 45. 

Manchester, England, William and 
Thomas Greenhalgh move to, 10; 
railroad between Liverpool and, 109. 

Mansur Block, Lowell, 168. 

Marathon, 104, 122, 343. 

Marquis, 112. 

Marryat, Captain, 24. 

Marston Moor, the field of, 123, 363. 

Martin, Gen. A. P., 314. 

" Martin Luthers," the, 46. 

Maryland, 215. 

Mascuppick Pond, 44, 45. 

Massachusetts, Governor Greenhalge 
defends the fame of, 79 ; the Attica 
of the New World, 281 ; at the At- 
lanta Exposition, 369; comes into 
close political sympathy with Vir- 
ginia, 430. 

Massachusetts Regiment, Twenty-third, 
35. 

Massinger, 53. 

Matthews, Mayor, of Boston, 284. 



McCarthy, Edward Dorr, 51. 

McDaniels, Joseph H., 52, 59. 

McEvoy, 116. 

McKiuley, William, 183; compared 
with Reed, 183; introduces the re- 
nowned Tariff Bill, 184 ; the President 
of the United States, 185 ; 244, 265. 

McKinley Bill, the, 184; becomes the 
war-cry of the Democrats, 1 84 ; causes 
the defeat of the Republican party, 
185. 

McMillan, Mr., 243. 

Mechanics' Hall, 383. 

Mechanicsville, 164. 

Medford, 122. 

Meigs Bill, the, 306. 

Melbourne, Lord, 50. 

Mellen, Representative, of Worcester, 
294. 

Melrose, 174. 

Melrose Republican Club, the, Green- 
halge delivers an address before, 1 74. 

Memuon, the fabled statue of, 109. 

Mendelssohn Quintette Club, the, 21. 

Mercury, 135. 

Merrill, Major, 293. 

Merrimac River, the, 14, 16, 17, 46, 54, 
99, 163, 302, 333. 

Merrimack Manufacturing Company, 
William Greenhalgh takes charge of 
the printing department of, 11, 13 ; 
suspends operations, 33. 

Michigan, 244. 

Michigan Republican Club, the, 244. 

Middlesex, 52, 122, 123. 

Middlesex Club, the, in Boston, Green- 
halge speaks before, 172. 

Milan, 119. 

Miles, Rev. Mr., 115. 

Milford, Mass., dedication of the library 
in, 140. 

Mills, Mr., 241. 

Mile, 146. 

Miltiades, 123. 

Milton, John, 108, 113, 140, 313, 427. 

Miner, Rev. Dr., 115. 

Minneapolis, presidential convention at, 
245. 

Mississippi River, the, 99. 

Missolonghi, 122. 

Missouri, 194. 

Missouri Compromise, the, 131. 

Monadnock, Mount, 14, 42, 47, 137. 



452 



INDEX. 



Montcalm, 112. 

Montfort, Simou de, 363. 

Moore, Albert, 52, 59. 

Moore, Judge, of Texas, 214. 

More, Sir Thomas, 323. 

Moreland, D. F., 314. 

Morse, Elijah A., 202, 358. 

Morton, " King," 310. 

Morton, Levi V., 176. 

Mugwumps, the, 153, 228, 240. 

MuUhouse, 262. 

Music Hall, in Boston, 180, 281, 315. 



Nahant, 254. 

Napoleon, 26, 66 ; understood the volatile 
nature of the French, 165; 215. 

Naseby, the field of, 363. 

National Monument, the, dedication of, 
129. 

Neal, David, 139. 

Nelson, Rev. Natlian, 10. 

Nesmith, Harriet Rebecca, 47 ; char- 
acteristics of, 47. 

Nesmith, Isabel, her marriage to Gov- 
ernor Greeuhalge, 47. See also, 
Greenhalge, Mrs. Frederic Thomas. 

Nesmith, John, 47 ; his friends, 47 ; 
elected Lieutenant-Governor of Massa- 
chusetts, 47. 

Nesmith, Thomns, 114, 117. 

New Berne, N. C, 34, 35, 37. 

Newburyport, Mass., 129, 130, 131, 134, 
248. 

New England, the brain of our country, 
66; with Virginia leads the way to 
the triumph of liberty, 430 ; always a 
powerful factor in national affairs, 
431 ; population of, 433. 

" New England Supremacy," Governor 
Greenhalge's speech on, 129. 

New Hampshire, 295, 302. 

New Haven, the colony of, 430. 

Newport, 130. 

New York, 35 ; population of, 433. 

New York, city of, 14G. 

" New York Evening Post," the, 241. 

New York, New Haven, and Hartford 
Railroad, the, 327. 

" New York Recorder," the, 238. 

" New York Sun," the, 321. 

Ney, Marshal, 121. 

Nickerson, Dr., 41, 42, 53, 59. 



Niedringhaus, Mr., 197. 

Nixon, Dr., 45. 

Norman, John, 57. 

Norman, Silas, 57. 

North Abington, 327. 

"North American Review," the, 295; 

articles written by Greenhalge for, 

427-440. 
North Bridge, the old, 298. 
North Carolina, 223. 
North Carolina Heavy Artillery, First, 

35. 
North Chelmsford, 59. 
North Church, the old, in Boston, 298. 
North Grammar School, the old, in 

Lowell, 14 ; Greenhalge in, 19, 
North, Kit, 54. 



OCTAVIUS, 68. 

O'Ferrall, Mr., of Virginia, 196, 197, 
202, 206, 207, 210, 211, 234. 

Ohio, 184, 195. 

Ohio County, 204. 

Old Colony Railroad, the, 326, 327, 328. 

" Old Harvard Magazine," the. Gover- 
nor Greenhalge an editor of, 27. 

"Old Jos," 16. 

Old South Church, the, 91. 

Old South Meeting House, the, 3C6. 

O'Neil, Hon. J. H., 235. 

"Original Package Bill," the, 185. 

Otis, James, 102. 

" Our Country," Governor Greenhalge's 
speech on, 129. 

Outhwaite, Mr., of Ohio, 197. 



Pacific Isles, the, 139. 

Paint and Oil Club, the, 129. 

Palmer, C. D., 59. 

Paris, 102, 139. 

Parish Church, Bury, 7. 

Parkman, Francis, 67. 

Parthenon, the, 120, 348. 

"Patriot, the," verses by Governor 
Greenhalge, 23. 

Patriots' Day, established by Governor 
Greenhalge, 295 ; the first celebration 
of, at Concord, 296 ; Governor Green- 
halge's speech at, 296. 

Paul, Saint, 120. 

Pawtucket, R. I., 17, 113, 179. 



INDEX. 



453 



Pawtucket Falls, 17. 
Pendleton, Atkinson vs., 200, 
Pennsylvania, 196. 
Pennsylvania Club, the, 129. 

Pension Bill, the, 239. 

People's Club, the, 46. 

Perham, Mr., 315. 

Pericles, 123, 139, UO, 348. 

Perseus, 93. 

Peterboro Hills, the, 14. 

Phidias, 348. 

Philip, 140. 

Phillips, Adelaide, 21. 

Phillips, Samson & Co., 17. 

Phillips, Wendell, 47, 88, 115, 128, 141. 

Pickman, Mayor, of Lowell, 268. 

Pilgrim Fathers, the, 5, 254. 

Pillsbury, A. E., 246 ; withdraws as 
candidate for Governor of Massachu- 
setts, 250 ; nominates Greenhalge for 
Governor at the Convention, 251. 

Pisa, the Tower of, 106. 

Pitt, William, 14, 65, 186. 

Pizarro, 5. 

Plato, 323. 

Piatt, Thomas, 241. 

Plutarch, 67, 78. 

Plymouth, Mass., 129, 308. 

Plymouth County Fair, the, Governor 
Greenhalge's speech at, 354. 

Plymouth Kock, 112, 322, 371. 

Poems, written by Greenhalge, 386-424. 

Pompey, 68, 75, 228. 

Porter, 16. 

Porter, General, 121. 

Port Hudson, 99, 277. 

" Position of the Political Parties," the, 
Greenhalge's speech on, 179. 

Post, Albert Kintzing, funeral oration 
at the burial of the foot-ball at Har- 
vard, 29. 

Post 42, G. A. R., 46. 

" Practical Politics," article written by 
Greenhalge on, 434-440. 

Prescott, 179. 

Press Club of Lowell, the, 135. 

Primrose Print Works, the, William 
Greenhalgh in charge of, 9. 

Procrustes, 92. 

Prometheus, 102. 

Puget's Sound, 365. 

Putnam, 179. 

Putnam County, 193. 



Quay, Matthew, 229, 241. 



Raphael, 78. 

Rapid Transit in Boston, Governor 
Greenhalge's opinion regarding, 376. 

Rapid Transit Bill, the, 306. 

Rawle, Mr., 222. 

Rebellion, the War of the, Lowell in, 
112, 113. 

Reed, Thomas B., 183 ; compared with 
McKinley, 183; 229, 239, 253; his 
tribute to Greenhalge, 257 ; 265. 

Revere, Paul, 124, 298. 

Revolution, the American, 97. 

Revolution, the French, 92. 

Rhode Island, 295. 

Rice, B., 315. 

Richardson, 115. 

Richardson, U. S., 51. 

Richardson, G. F., 51. 

Richmond, 94. 

Robinson, Ex-Governor, 381. 

Robinson, John P., 115. 

Robinson, Pard, 194, 199. 

Rockwell, Mr. Justice, 110. 

Rogers Hall School for Girls, the, 46. 

Rome, conquests of, 133, 157. 

Rosecrans, General, 363, 366. 

Rossetti, 70. 

Rowell, Mr., of Elinois, 196. 

Rugby, 27. 

Runnymede, 123. 

Ruskin, John, eloquent philippics of, 6, 
65 ; 78. 

Russell, Hon. John E., 258, 319. 

Russell, Governor William E., 236 ; his 
attempt to abolish the Governor's 
Council, 244 ; chosen Governor of 
Massachusetts for the third time, 246 ; 
271, 368, 374, 385. 



Sadowa, 102. 

Salvation Army, the. Governor Green- 
halge's address before, 352. 

Samoa, 229. 

Sanborn, Captain, Governor Greenhalge 
refuses to pardon, 326-333. 

San Domingo, 153. 

San Lorenzo, the sacristy of, 107. 

Satolli, Monseigneur, 346. 

Savannah, 364. 



454 



INDEX. 



Scarborongh, Maine, 47. 

Schouler, 116. 

Scott, A. D., 26. 

Scott, "Walter, 67. 

Scripture, James O., 52. 

Sedan, 102. 

" Self-Government," Governor Green- 

halge's speech on, 1 28. 
Semmes, Mr., 243. 
Shakespeare, 53, 66, 75, 140. 
Shaw, Mr., 170. 
Sheldon, Judge, 27 ; -writes of Governor 

Greenhalge at Harvard, 32 ; character 

sketch of Greenhalge as a lawyer, 

89, 90. 
Sheldon, Henry J)., 314. 
Sheridan, General, 366. 
Sherman Act, the, 253. 
Sherman, General, 94, 366. 
Sherman, Judge, 327. 
Siberia, the darkness of, 93, 123. 
Silver Bill, the, 188. 
Silver Question, the, 185. 
" Skeleton's Soliloquy," a, short story 

by Governor Greenhalge, 26. 
Slater, Jane, her marriage to William 

Greenhalgh, 9. 
Smith, Governor, of New Hampshire, 

295. 
Smith, Sydney, 17, 49. 
Smith vs. Jackson, 191, 202, 233. 
Snodgrass, Lee, 201, 203, 204, 205. 
Society of Jesus, the, 138. 
Sons of the American Revolution, the, 

121, 372. 
South, the united, 430. 
South Berwick, 57. 
South Carolina, 226. 
Spalding Light Cavalry, the, 123. 
Spartans, the, 163. 
Spenser, 53. 
Sprague, H. H., 326. 
Springer, Mr., of Illinois, 80, 243. 
Springfield, 381. 

" Springfield Republican," the. 241, 360. 
Standish, Miles, 112, 117. 
Stanley, Dean, 60. 
Stanley, H. M., 138. 
Stanton, Mr., 315. 
Starkie, 16. 

Stephenson, George, 109. 
Stevens, Gorham Philip, 27. 
Stevens, Solon W., 52. 



" St. Louis Globe-Democrat," the, 195. 

Stone, Mr., of Missouri, 80, 232. 

" Stonewall Jackson," Governor Greeu- 
halge's speech on, 128. 

Story, Justice, 222. 

St. Peter's, 119, 120. 

St. Peter's Total Abstinence Society of 
Lowell, 128. 

Strasburg, 119, 120. 

St. Thomas Church, at Dover, New 
Hampshire, viii. 

Stuart, House of, 307. 

Stuart, Mary, execution of, 308. 

Subway Bill, the, 306. 

Sullivan, John L., 214. 

Sumner, Charles, 47, 88, 128; quarrels 
with Grant, 153 ; the idol of Massa- 
chusetts, 154; attacked by Brooks, 
154 ; bolts Grant's second nomination, 
154. 

Sumter, Fort, 340. 

" Sunday," poem written by Governor 
Greenhalge, 74. 

Superior, Lake, 220. 

Supreme Court, the, act for the relief of, 
239. 

Swazey, Mr., 130. ' 

Sweden, 112. 

Sweetser, 115. 

Swift, General, 122. 

Swift, Morrison I., 284 ; presents a pe- 
tition from the unemployed to Gover- 
nor Greenhalge, 284-290. 

Swinburne, 67. 



Tallahoma, 365. 

Tammany Hall, 228, 240, 241, 242, 299. 

Tampa Bay, 365. 

Tariff Bill, the, 181; introduced by 
McKinley, 184; Greenhalge's de- 
bate upon, 225. 

Taunton, 258. 

Temperance, Governor Greenhalge's 
opinions regarding, 278. 

Tennessee, 45, 365, 366. 

Tennyson, .53, 66, 67. 

Texas, 214. 

Thackeray, W. M., 17, 67. 

Themistocles, 5, 105. 

Thermopyla;, 122, 123, 124, 163. 

Theseus, 110. 

Thomas, General, 304, 366. 



INDEX. 



455 



Thomas, Mr., 288. 

Thompson, Judge, 314. 

Thompson, Albert G., 245. 

Threet vs. Clarke, 224. 

Ticknor & Fields, 17. 

Timoleon, victories of, 78. 

Tracy, Secretary, 339. 

Trajau, the Column of, 106. 

Tremont House, the, 174. 

Treraont Temple, 177, 229. 

Trout Bill, the, vetoed by Governor 

Greeuhalge, 301. 
Tuttle, Farmer, 58. 
Twichell, Mr., 306. 
Tyler, 117. 

Tyngsborough, 41, 59. 
Tyng's Island, 46, 54. 
Tyng's Pond, 42, 59. 

Underwriters' Association, the. Gov- 
ernor Greeuhalge's address before, 
292. 

Unitarian Church, the, at Lowell, 61. 

Unitarian Club of Lowell, 46 ; Gover- 
nor Greenhalge speaks before, 125. 

Unitarian Club of Watertown, the, 129. 

Unitarian Headquarters at The Weirs, 
dedication of, 118-121. 

" United Colonies of New England," 
the, 430. 

Valley Forge, 95. 

Van Bokkelin, J. F., 28. 

Vaue, Governor, 308. 

Vaux, Mr., of Pennsylvania, 218, 219. 

Vermont, 295. 

Veterans' Preference Bill, the, vetoed 
by Governor Greenhalge, 300, 333, 
337. 

Vicksburg, 94, 99. 

Vienna, 139. 

Virginia, 191 ; Massachusetts comes 
into close political sympathy with, 
430; with New England leads the 
way to the triumph of liberty, 430. 

Virginia Bill of Rights, the, 219. 

" Voice," the. Governor Greenhalge 
one of the editors of, 26. 

" Vox Populi," the, 26. 

Wade, Rufus, 289. 
Waddill vs. Wise, 210. 



Wadhill, Edmund, Jr., 216. 

Walker, Mr., of Indiana, 282. 

Waltham, 106. 

Warland, 116. 

War of 1812, the, 429. 

Warren, Gen. Joseph, 343. 

Warren, J. Collins, 28. 

Washington, city of, 71, 154; Green- 
halge moves his family to, 187. 

Washington, Professor Booker T., 371. 

Washington, George, 102, 369. 

Waterloo, 215, 277. 

Watertown, Mass., 129. 

Watson, William, 67. 

Webster, Daniel, 84, 86, 214, 364. 

Wells, Mr., 205. 

Wellsburgh district, the, 206. 

Westford Academy, the, 47. 

West Virginia, 193. 

Wetzel County, 202, 204, 205, 207. 

Whalley, 15. 

Wheeling, city of, 206. 

Whipple, 114. 

Whipple, Hon. J. J., 326. 

Whistler, James, 139. 

White Mountains, the, 43, 137. 

Whitney, Albert S., 326. 

Whittemore, Niles & Hall, 17. 

Wigan, battle of, 7. 

Wilderness, battle of, 86, 94. 

Williams, Archbishop, jubilee of, 344 ; 
Governor Greeuhalge's speech at, 
345. 

Williams, George Fred, 362. 

Williams, Roger, 308, 310. 

Willow Dale, 41,54. 

" Willow Dale," a song by Governor 
Greenhalge, 42. 

Wilson, Mr., of Missouri, 204, 207. 

Wilson, E. M., Governor of West Vir- 
ginia, 199. 

Wilson, WiUiam Power, 326. 

Winnipiseogee, 114, 119. 

Winslow, Hon. Samuel E., 315. 

Winthrop, John, Governor Greenhalge 
delivers a lecture on, 306-314 ; 322. 

Winthrop, John, Jr., Governor of Con- 
necticut, 309. 

Winthrop, Margaret, 312. 

Winthrop, Robert C, 306, 313. 

Winthrop, Theodore, 307. 

Wise, George D., of Virginia, 211, 216. 

Wise, WaddiU vs., 210. 



456 



INDEX. 



Woburn Police Bill, the, vetoed by 
Governor Grecnhalge, 336. 

Wolcott, Roger, Lieutenant-Governor 
of Massachusetts, 316 ; Greenhalge's 
tribute to, 319; 361, 381. 

Women's Suffrage, Governor Green- 
halge's opinions regarding, 280. 

Worcester, Mass., 84, 243, 355. 



Worcester, battle of, 7. 
Wyoming, State of, 185. 

Y. M. C. A. Trade Reception, the. 

Mayor Greenhalge speaks at, 164. 
Yorick Club, the, 46. 
York, Maine, 47. 
Yorkshire, 9. 



I 



